Thanks for your reviews! It is time to reveal Alex's secret...

Chapter 10

It had been two days since Alex had disappeared and her parents had been exceptionally quiet on the subject when Elena got a horrible thought. With Alex gone, who was taking care of Ripley at the shelter? She decided to take action immediately and told the school nurse she wasn't feeling well and would be going home an hour early that day. That should give her enough time between school and gymnastics to visit the shelter and see how the dog was doing. Thomas loved Millie, but frankly, Elena liked Ripley better. Not that she'd ever want to adopt him, because the dog was unsafe around her brother, but she cared about the unwanted animal somehow.

Elena left the school building and biked to the shelter. Once there, she didn't see anyone. Was anyone taking care of the dogs at all? She checked some of the food and water bowls and luckily found them to be half full. That was a relief. Elena left her backpack in the area where the food and leashes were stored and continued to Ripley's private area. The dog immediately ran up to her and wagged his tail. "Hey you," Elena chuckled as she opened the small gate slightly so she could attach a leash to Ripley's collar. The dog walked out when she fully opened the gate and licked her hands. "Ew!" Elena exclaimed, but stroked the dog's weirdly-coloured fur anyway. "Let's go for a walk. I don't know where Alex is and if he's coming back, but you need to exercise. Let's go."

Alex had just woken up from his nap when he heard noises. Nobody was supposed to be here at this hour! It was only open to the public during the weekend and he had volunteered today, so nobody else was coming in. Grabbing a broom, he opened the door of the office and looked around the corner, just in time to see someone disappearing through the door with Ripley. "Damn it," he cursed. If it had been any other dog, he could've let it slide. But Ripley was unpredictable and whoever had taken him was in danger. He ran out the door and opened it. "Stop! You can't walk that dog! He's dange... Elena?"

Elena turned around, eyes wide with surprise. "Alex!" Of course. Of course he was here!

"What - what are you doing here?" Alex walked over to her, embracing her without thinking about it.

Elena was about to laugh at him for hugging her as if she was his mother, but as soon as he touched her she sensed that it wasn't funny, that he was in deep trouble and needed help, not someone laughing at him. So, she hugged him back, waiting patiently until he took a step back. "I figured with you gone that no one would walk Ripley, so I came to check on him," she explained her presence.

"I've been here, volunteering. Can I - would you mind if I join you?" Alex asked her after he'd released her.

"Sure," Elena said and they started walking. "So, you probably know that my dad's looking for you. It's pretty impressive that you can hide from the FBI."

"Not really, it just means..." his eyes widened and the revelation hit him, "You haven't told your dad that I volunteer here! And your brother hasn't told him either. Or your grandfather."

"No, we haven't. My dad's freaking out over this case because it has a link to you and you have a link to me. Also... he wasn't too happy about finding your pills in my room. But you didn't murder your foster dad, did you?"

"Is that what this is about? He thinks I...? Oh God...Oh God... Oh God." Alex could feel the start of another panic attack and did what he knew would work without the pills. He sat down next to Ripley and slowly pulled him into his arms. Ripley rested his head on Alexander's shoulder, who closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down.

Elena sat down next to Alex and Ripley. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. Is there anything I can do?"

"Don't tell your dad I'm here? Please. I didn't do what he thinks I did. I didn't get along with Jason, but I didn't kill him! He was much bigger and stronger than I am. Even if I had wanted to..."

Elena put her hand on Alex' arm and looked at Ripley's kind eyes. It was as if the dog was really comforting him. "I'll try to protect you," she promised. "But if you didn't kill him... why did you run?"

Alex looked up. Part of him wanted to tell her, but could he really ask her to keep secrets from her parents? "If I tell you, you can't tell your mom or your dad," he warned her.

Elena shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not sure I can make that promise... But I can promise to only tell if it would help you get out of trouble?"

"I'll go to jail if you tell your dad. At least I think I will." He looked at her and reached for her hand. "I don't want to live like this anymore..."

Elena grabbed his hand firmly. "I don't want you to go to jail. You won't if you're innocent, my dad will make sure."

"I'm not innocent, Elena. I - I'm a drug dealer and a junkie," he told her, ashamed of himself.

"I figured as much when my dad told me the pills you dropped were hard drugs. Why would you take that crap?"

"It's an addiction. I can't stop, Elena," he avoided her actual question.

"Of course you can. There are treatments for addictions."

"I don't have money for any of that. And even if I did, I have these panic attacks. I need those pills. I can't stop."

"Surely there's some way we can get you the help you need. Let me look into it, I'll just do some searching on the internet." She was quiet for a moment. "Why did you start taking drugs?" She was more curious than scared and she wanted to know the story behind his drug abuse more than she judged him for it.

"He forced me," Alexander whispered after a long silence. "Jason didn't give me a choice. And once I was addicted, he made me sell the drugs to other people, only then would I get some for me."

Elena felt anger boiling inside her. "What a jerk!" She couldn't handle injustice, and this was one of the worst cases she'd encountered in her young life.

"So you see? I'm just as bad as Jason was." His foster father had told him so, countless times. "It numbs all my pain, so I like it. It makes me not care. I like it that way."

"That's no way to live," Elena told him decisively. "We need to get you off that garbage. Can we continue walking? I'm getting cold."

"Yes." Alex stood and they continued walking. "Will you tell your father?"

"Can I tell him that he used you to deal drugs?" Elena asked her friend, "I won't have to mention that I talked to you today. You could have told me this before you disappeared."

"I'd rather you wouldn't tell him anything. I - I'm sorry, Elena. I don't know what I'm supposed to do and I can't go home."

"Have you been living here? At the shelter?" she asked him.

"As often as I can, but I can't stay here every day. I try to sleep here every night. Usually, Ripley and I share."

Elena thought about that. "Aren't you cold at night?" She wanted to help him.

"I'm inside and Ripley and I share body heat, so I'm not that cold and I'm not alone."

"But you didn't do anything wrong. You were forced to take and deal those drugs. Can't you just tell my dad that? He'll listen to you, I promise."

"And what if he does? If he'll help, he's going to want something in return. He'll demand that I stop dealing and using. I can't just do that, it's too complicated."

Elena suddenly got a great idea. "What if you offer to testify against the drug users or something, and the FBI pays for your rehab in return?"

"I can't stop using, Elena! If I do, I'll... the memories will get stronger and I don't want to think about that."

"Memories?" she echoed. "What memories? You should tell me, Alex. It really does help to talk."

"I think I know what night Jason was murdered. I was out, you know, dealing drugs and I was home late that night. My foster dad wasn't at home, which I was grateful for at the time. Someone kind of attacked me."

"Attacked you?" Ripley stopped walking all of a sudden and pricked up his ears. Probably, he'd spotted another animal. Elena was shocked. "A junkie? Why didn't you to go to the police?"

"It was a middle-aged man, Elena. A strong, horrible man, who I barely got away from. He... he... I don't know how I'm supposed to tell you something like this."

"Then maybe tell Ripley, if that's easier, and I'll just listen in," Elena suggested. When she was younger, she'd often told secrets to Moby, and it helped her back then.

"Okay." Alex hesitated, but when they entered the shelter, he sat down next to Ripley. "Hey boy. I have to tell you a secret." The dog seemed to know how uncomfortable he felt and lay down his head on Alex's lap. "On the night that my foster father was murdered, I went out to sell drugs. I walked by a man. He called to me and I thought he wanted to buy drugs, so I walked over to him. He - he pinned me to the wall and told me to take my pants off." This felt a little bit strange to Alex, and he was mumbling his story to his dog, but at the same time it was so nice to finally describe his traumatic experience. To just get the words out.

Elena turned a little pale. Of course she knew what sexual assault was, but it had never been this close to her. She tried to be as quiet as possible as Alexander told Ripley about his horrific experience. She wasn't sure she was brave enough to hear it, but she tried to be.

"I told him no, of course and I offered all of the drugs I had with me. He threw them away, though, and took his belt off. He held me in place by pressing his body against mine. He smelled horrific, Ripley. Anyway, when he had taken his belt off, he tied my hands together and threw me on the ground. I tried to crawl away but he grabbed my pants and pulled me back to him. He - he managed to pull my pants off. I've never been so humiliated in my life."

Alex's tears finally started to fall, but he bravely continued when Ripley pushed his hand with his snout. "He took my penis in his hand and he tried to push his penis into me, but..." Angrily, he wiped his tears away, "I don't know what happened, but he was interrupted, because he suddenly stopped and left me alone."

Elena's smothered sniffs broke the silence in the shelter. "Sorry," she choked out. That was the worst story she'd heard in her life. She felt so, so sad for Alex. She crawled over to him and Ripley and wrapped her arms around her friend as tears slid down both their faces. "I'm so sorry, Alex."

Since then, he didn't like to be touched, but it was different with her. "Promise me you won't tell your dad," he asked her quietly.

"I promise," she whispered as her heart hurt for him. She held Alex tightly, wishing she could erase his memory. She was frightened by the sexual violence her friend had suffered and how much it affected him.

Alex enjoyed her embrace for a little while, the sensation of being comforted was an alien one and he reluctantly released her. "You should get going, Elena."

"What about you?" she asked him as she drew her sleeve across her cheeks. "Will you stay here?"

"Where else am I going to go?" he shrugged. "I'll be safe here, with Ripley. You have a mom and dad and a brother, you should go home."

"They think I'm at practice. I won't tell them where you are, but I wish you could come home with me. You didn't do anything wrong, Alex."

"Well, I'm sure your dad won't see it that way. Please leave, Elena. At least for now," he lay down next to Ripley, "I'm going to get some sleep. You should do the same."

Elena nodded, respecting his wish. "Just one more question. Do you know who killed your dad? Or who the man is that attacked you?"

"No." He looked up at her. "But that doesn't matter, because you won't talk to your dad about it. Right?"

"I won't, for you," Elena promised. "I'll be back tomorrow after school, okay? I'll bring you some food."

Alex nodded. "Thanks, Elena. I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered before he closed his eyes, not longer willing and able to handle the whole damn world.

Elena stroked Ripley's fur before standing up. "Bye, Alex. Be safe," she told him. Still a bit shaky, she walked to the food room and grabbed her backpack. She checked her watch. She'd be about ten minutes late for practice. That was fine. She got on her bike and raced to the gym, ready to temporarily forget about everything but gymnastics.

Alex asks Elena to keep his secret a secret, but will she be able to? Isn't that burden too heavy for a 15-year-old? What will she do to help her friend? Well, find out in the next chapter! Your reviews are very much appreciated, don't hesitate to leave one ;).