A.N: I really am sorry this is taking me so long to finish. I'll try extra hard to update but right now we're getting ready to move so, enjoy this as the last one for now. And see you all.

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Chapter 12.

Colt stood there as though he were paralyzed. He didn't know what to say or do. Accepting that, he did what any normal human being would have done.... He turned on his heals and ran!

"Jefferson!" Jamie called after him.

"Excuse me..." Colt was saying as he parted through the crowd of people. "Watch out."

John walked over to his mother, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Mom, don't freak out about this."

His mother moved her shoulder away, giving her son a cold glare. Jamie said nothing then, as she walked away from the crowd of people. She has seen enough.

"Man." John looked after her, seeing his little brother shrugging at him. He gave Jeremy a sympathetic look before he turned away to follow after his brother on the run.

Colt had bolted as fast as his legs could go, and being Colt, that was pretty fast until he reached a department store. Dashing inside he hid behind a pile of clothes peeking out from between them. "Hope I lost her," He was saying to himself.

"Lost who?" A woman said.

Startled, Colt straightened up, popping his head on the bar that held the clothing up. "Aheh heh." He laughed nervously, taking notice to the store that it was he had dashed in. The women's lingerie. And seeing that his hand was still placed upon a bra set, he turned bright red, quickly snapping his hands free. "Ahahaha. Oops."

The woman closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm curious," She took in a breath. "do young boys just want their arms ripped off? Or is it just out of pure dare that they come in here?"

"Uuum, I'm uuuh..." He turned his eyes out of the store, seeing a girl walking by. She was with a pile of friends and one of them was Anna! "I'm getting something for my girlfriend!" He said to save himself. "And there she is," Colt pointed out of the door. "Better not let her catch me in here, see ya."

Colt hurried out of the store, linking arms with Tasha when he got up to her. "Pretend you're my girlfriend okay?" He waved back to the woman in the store.

Natasha's mouth couldn't have dropped any lower to the ground hearing her secret- well- not so secret crush saying those words to her. "O- okay." She breathed out in a smile.

Annalise rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief and disgust at her friends behavior. 'Why do girls do these things?' She wondered.

"Anna', this is your brother?" Piper was saying.

"Jeff, hi." Said Colt reaching out a hand to her.

"My name is Piper Rodriguez. Nice to meet you." The Hispanic girl blushed.

Another girl with dark black hair held out her hand to take his next. "My name is Fumiko Cho."

Colt smiled saying, "Hi."

Anna sighed loudly, pointing as she spoke. "That's Libby, and that's Naomi. I wish I knew all the names of the girls at the mall today but as popular as you are, you're probably gonna be the one introducing them to me."

Colt smiled impishly. "Hey you never know."

Annalise's group of friends laughed, but his sister just rolled her eyes.

"So what's this about Nati' being your girlfriend?" Piper asked.

Colt waved a hand. "I was just saying that so the woman in that store wouldn't think I was weird."

Anna blinked hearing that then turned to her brother. "Mom saw you didn't she?"

Colt lowered his eyes to the floor. "...Yeah, and I wasn't exactly being a model son in her opinion."

"What were you doing?"

"Well.... this guy stole some ladies purse. So I got it back for her." He shrugged. "No big deal, but she looked like she was about to have a heart attack, so I ran."

"Yikes...." Anna reached out and placed a hand on her brothers shoulder. "Well, I'll see if I can talk to her when we get home. Maybe she'll listen to me."

"I hope so." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "....So, what are you guys doing here? I thought you went skating?"

Piper chirped up saying, "We did, but Anna here thought that Jeremy might need help keeping you're mother away from you." She shrugged a noisy arm, that was covered in bracelets. "And here we are."

Colt smiled at his sister. "Thanks."

"Hey Jeff." John caught up to his brother. "I think we should get the rest of your stuff and get home. Mom had that look in her eyes and I haven't seen that one in a long time. So come on."

"Alright..." Turning to Anna and her friends. "...- you guys coming too?"

"No, we need new nail polishes." Said Natasha. Getting right up into Colt's face, the red head batted her eyes. "Any color you like in particular?"

"Uuuhhh???" Colt leaned back on his heal to give the two of them some distance.

"He likes clear, as in, move out of his face Tasha!" Anna grabbed her friends shirt, yanking her away from Colt. "Let's get a move on, see you guys at home." She said as the six girls walked away.

"What a weird girl." Colt was saying to his brother.

John merely laughed and placed an arm around his brothers shoulders. "That's just one of the insane girls of Arizona. Wait until you go to school."

"Huh, all the girls'll want me and all the boys will hate me..." He thought. "It's just like being back in L.A."

John laughed hearing that. He could understand the situation, he was that same way when he was young. But right now, the pleasantries would have to wait. Because when they get home, he knew that the nightmare would begin.

"I brought Jefferson's school records over for you." Neilissa said, holding a vanilla folder out to Colt's father Ben.

The young woman had come over just as she said she would, bringing with her notes from the Douglas family as well as Colt's academic records. So the family wouldn't get suspicious.

The man was blushing bright red when their fingers touched. "Uh, thanks." Gesturing with a hand for her to take a seat, the two of them walked over to the couch, sitting down. "So," Ben cleared his voice. "My son, was he a good student."

"Ahaha. How do you mean?" Lissa danced around the answer.

The man opened the folder looking down. "....I see."

Neilissa laughed, shaking her head. "He tried, believe me." A shrug. "But heee was very pre-occupied with other activities."

"You mean sports?"

"Well, playing at clubs and things with his band."

Ben smiled into a laugh. "He does seem taken with music. I heard him playing some nights ago."

Nodding, Lissa mentioned. "He is a brilliant player, he knows classical piano as well."

"Oh how nice," The man assured. "Ha. If you were my teacher you'd be my main distraction."

"....Yes well. Isn't that-... charming." She stood. "Is Jefferson at home?"

"Not yet, he went to the mall with his brother and his friends."

Neilissa was becoming uneasy now, was this guy coming on to her. "And Mrs. McRea?"

"She's out as well." Ben stood as well.

"Then I must be going," she headed for the door.

"I wonder if we beat mom home?" Colt was saying as he walked in.

"Colt..." Lissa said, coming face to face with her friends and student.

A slow smile came across Colt's mouth. "Lissa?"

John looked confused asking. "Do you two know each other?"

"She's my instructor at the college." Colt replied. "What are you doing here?" He asked guiding her up stairs.

"I came to drop off your records."

John listened to the two exchange words until they were out of ear shot, then he walked into the living room. His father stood staring after the two of them, his eyes half lidded, mouth hung slightly opened. "Dad... I wouldn't get any ideas if I were you. She's half your age and besides, didn't you learn your lesson from the last time?"

His father blinked and waved a hand. "No son, I wasn't staring." He walked back over to the couch. "Where's your mother?"

"At the mall I guess, she's really mad though." John explained. "She saw Colt beat up this purse snatcher- it was awesome."

"He beat up a purse snatcher?" His father couldn't believe his ears.

"The guy had a knife and everything... Aw man, I'm never getting on his bad side." John walked into the kitchen for a drink.

"My son. Ha. amazing."

Upstairs. Colt closed his door, locking it after them and he steered Neilissa over to his bed to sit. "This is.... the best! I'm really glad you're here." He hugged her tightly.

Lissa smiled, hugging him back. "It's really good to see you Colt."

He moved away. "Hey, it's really good to be called, Colt." He laughed.

The two of them just looked at each other in silence, then she glanced down remembering what she had brought for him. "Here. These are letters from your family." She dug into her pocket and handed the white envelopes to him. "It's not the same there without you, you know."

"I bet... have you seen my mom recently?" He looked over the envelopes.

"Not very recently, but I have seen her and she's in bad shape." Lissa shook her head. "Poor woman, she can't even put on a brave face."

Colt lowered his eyes and played with the letters in his hands. "This sucks Liss', it really sucks... I shouldn't be here, I should be at home with my real mom and my real family."

"But what can you do? The law, is the law. You can't go against it."

"I know that... but still. It sucks."

Lissa pulled the boy into a hug and held him tightly. "I'm sorry it has to be this way. Maybe someday, you're parents would let you visit the Douglas's."

"My family." Colt snapped. "They're not some strangers, they're my family."

"Yes, of course." Lissa held her hands out in defense.

Colt shook his head. "No, I'm sorry..." He mumbled quietly. "It's just that... I miss them, I miss being me. I don't know how to act here and for that I'm always in some kind of trouble."

She listened quietly as the boy poured his heart out to her and what he was saying began to make her feel extremely guilty. She should never have helped him find the McRea's, she should have listened to her instincts to tell him not to look into it. Now he's stuck here with a family that makes him uncomfortable. It was all her fault.

Colt brushed a hand over her shoulder. "So, you staying for dinner? Maybe you and me could find someplace out here to go to."

"....I don't know, would that be okay with the McRea's?" She wondered.

Colt shrugged and heard the front door open. "That must be Jamie. I gotta go talk to her." He stood up. "Please wait here for me, okay?"

The young woman nodded and Colt left the room. "Here comes the nightmare." He said repeating John.