Chapter One

Hilary Tatibana wandered down the street in a daze. Where was she? This place looked so familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen this place before. All she could remember was the smell of alcohol and piercing blue eyes. And screams and tears. There were a lot of screams and tears.

Don't tell anyone, a voice echoed in her head. You promised not to tell anyone.

You have to tell someone, another voice cried.

He'll kill her if she does, you idiot! the first one retorted.

There was another voice. Soft and distant. I want my mommy. I want to go home. I want my mommy.

Hilary listened to their voices. She remembered these voices. They were her friends. They always came to rescue her from the man with cold blue eyes. She agreed with the first voice. She couldn't tell anyone what happened.

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Dawn Tatibana picked up the phone on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ms. Tatibana. This is Lieutenant Brown. I'm calling about your daughter that went missing two months ago."

The thirty year old woman clutched the phone closer to her ear. "Yes?"

"We found her sitting on a bench in the park and have her down at the station right now."

The brunette was so happy that she hung up the phone before she was able to say thank you or at least a proper goodbye. She looked at the man sitting in the chair opposite her. "They found her. Drew, they found her. They have her at the station right now."

Drew Hiwitari stood up and clasped Dawn's hands. "That's great! When can we go get her?"

Dawn blushed and shrugged. "I kinda hung up before I could ask."

The thirty two year old rolled his eyes. "You are such a ditz sometimes, Dawn."

She narrowed her eyes. "I most certainly am not! I was just so happy that I forgot to ask. I think we should be able to pick her up now. Why else would they call?"

He shrugged. "Do you think we should take the kids out of school?"

Dawn shook her head. "No. They can all see her when they get home from school."

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"Do you think she's okay?" a girl with brown hair and red bangs that framed her face asked.

"Of course she is," a red haired girl said, "This is Hilary we're talking about after all. She knows how to take care of herself."

"Yeah," the first girl said, "But she was sick that day, Hailey. Remember?"

"Yes, Tika. I remember. I just don't want to think about what could have possibly happened to her. I just want to believe that everything is okay. That she's okay."

A girl with raven black hair sighed. "I hear ya. I really do. But I have to agree with Tika. We can't forget the fact that something may have happened to her. None of us want to believe that something terrible could've happened to her. But we can't rule that out."

The three girls were walking to the cafeteria to meet with the rest of their friends. The two months that Hilary had been gone were hectic for her group of friends. She was the one that kept everything in order for their group of ten. She was the one that they all went to when something was wrong, and she was the one that ceased all conflicts within the group. She was their unpredictable ring leader that kept them on their toes.

The three girls got their trays and walked over to the table where their six friends were sitting. "Hey, guys," a girl with two-toned hair said as they sat down.

"Hey, Kylie."

To the left of Kylie sat her older brother, only by five minutes, Kai Hiwitari. They were Hilary's older siblings. The reason why they had a different last name than Hilary was because Drew wasn't at the hospital when Hilary was born and never got around to signing his name on her birth certificate. (Dawn and Drew weren't married. They had recently gotten engaged.)

To the right of Kylie sat her boyfriend, Josh Jones. He had reddish brown that was always up in braids.

Beside Kai sat a boy with navy blue hair that he kept under a red and blue baseball cap. That was Tyson Granger. He and Hilary had a love-hate relationship going on because, according to their friends and family, they were gaga for each other, but they were both too stubborn to admit it.

Beside Josh sat Max Tate. He had blonde hair and was Joan's boyfriend. He moved to Japan from America three years prior with his father shortly after his parents got divorced.

And lastly, there was Ray Kon. He had long raven black hair that he kept in a ponytail, making it look like a cat's tail. He moved to Japan from China the year before to live with an aunt shortly after his parents died in a freak car accident.

The group of friends sat in silence for a few seconds before Kylie said, "I never thought anything like this would happen."

They all looked at her in confusion. "What?" Kai asked.

She sighed. "I never thought that anything like this could happen to Hilary. I mean, she's always so hyper and happy and so…under control that you never think that anything bad can happen to her. I always thought that worse thing that could happen to her was if she gained two pounds. Speaking of which, it's a wonder she ways what she does and she eats all that food."

Josh snorted. "You're one to talk."

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you calling me fat?"

He shook his head. "I'm just saying you eat a lot. You, Dawn, and Hilary eat like you've never seen food before and you three hardly ever work out and yet you're all in better shape than most people."

Kylie shrugged. "We have great metabolism."

Joan smiled softly at them, and then frowned. "You know, Kylie is right. It never even crossed my mind that anything terrible could ever happen to Hilary. I mean, she's always been so in control of her life. I never really thought about her ever getting hurt or something of the sort. I mean, Hilary was always Hilary. Bossy, stubborn, hot tempered, giddy, easy to laugh with Hilary. I don't think it ever crossed any of our minds that she would or could be kidnapped."

Max shrugged. "You're right. But I don't think we should be talking like this. It makes it sound like we've given up hope. I'm pretty sure that Hilary is perfectly fine. At least, when it comes to living. I'm not so sure about health wise."

Hailey picked up a piece of corn and threw it at him. "Is that supposed to be some type of motivational speech? If it is, you started out pretty good, then you just went down the drain."

Tika rolled her eyes and smiled softly. "Max is right. We sound like we've given up hope, like she's dead or something. But I have a feeling that she isn't."

Ray raised an eyebrow. "How can you be so sure?"

She smirked. "I just have a feeling that after school, when we go to Kai and Kylie's house, things are going to be different then usual. Whether it's good or bad, I'm not so sure."

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Hilary stared at the woman standing in front of her. She had brown hair and ruby eyes, just like her. Who was this woman?

That's your mother, a voice from earlier said.

Her mother smiled softly at her and enveloped her in a hug. "Oh, Hilary. I've missed you so much. Are you okay?"

The fifteen-year-old didn't say anything. She just shrugged.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Hilary, can you tell me what happened to you?"

The ruby eyed girl opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out.

You mustn't tell anyone or he'll come after you again.

She closed her mouth and looked away.

The woman that was her mother stood up and looked at one of the officers. "What's wrong with her?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure, Dawn. She hasn't said a word since we brought her here. She's just sat in a corner and rocked back and forth in a little ball. Before I forget, Lieutenant Brown said that you should probably take her to the hospital to be examined. In most cases like this, there are usually signs of molestation and sexual abuse."

Dawn stiffened and nodded. "Okay. Can I take her now?"

The officer nodded. "Sure. Go ahead."

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Hilary was slipping back into her clothes when the doctor came back into the room with the results.

Dawn looked at her expectantly. "Well?"

The doctor looked hesitantly at Hilary before answering. "Yes, there are signs of molestation, but I think that that should be the least of your worries. There are also signs of rape, and of a pregnancy."

Dawn closed her eyes for a few seconds, and then slowly opened them. "Did you just say that my daughter is pregnant?"

The doctor looked at Hilary for any sign of shock, but was only greeted by bleak, emotionless eyes. "Yes, that's what I said," she looked at Dawn, "Can I speak with you outside for a moment?"

The thirty-year-old stood and nodded. "Sure."

When they exited the room, the doctor closed the door. "I think it would be wise if you took your daughter to see a psychiatrist."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I've seen many cases like this, Ms. Tatibana. Where a girl is kidnapped and molested and when she's shocked she doesn't want to talk about it, but none of them have reacted quite as badly as your daughter. I'm afraid of what she might do to herself if she doesn't get any help."