Chapter 20

Alex stared at her reflection for the umpteenth time. After trying on almost her entire closet, she was still not satisfied with how she looked. She moved in different angles, observing every inch of her body. She lifted her shirt up, revealing her flat stomach. She rested one hand on her hip, squeezing the skin that hardly existed. She then moved her hand to her stomach, becoming fustrated. I just want to be skinny. She thought, letting her shirt hide her emaciated stomach-or what she thought as fat stomach. Why doesn't anyone else see what she sees? The proof is right here. Isn't it?

She sighed as she pulled the shirt off. She threw it onto her bed, before finally deciding on her dark wash jeans and purple sweater. She was suddenly startled as her phone vibrated once. She picked up her Blackberry, glancing at the screen. It read, One New Text Message. She didn't recogize the number, but she decided to open it. Dean's not going 2 luv u if u don't lose weight.

Alex stared at the text, feeling a tear carve a path down her pale cheek. Who sent this? And why? Was it true? She had never even thought of it. She wanted to lose the weight because she hated the way she looked. But did Dean hate it too? She closed the text, sliding her phone into her black bag. She stood in front on the mirror, yet again, rethinking her outfit. But she knew she wasn't going to like anything. She slid on her black suede heels, before grabbing her bag and starting for the steps. She made her way into the sub station, where the rest of her family was.

"You look very nice. Are you going out with Dean?" Her Mother smiled as she observed Alex's outfit.

"Yeah." She slightly smiled, as her brother Justin placed a almost empty plate onto the counter. She glanced around at the customers, instantly feeling uncomfortable. Several of them noticed Alex and were whispering to one another as they stared at her. Everyone had heard almost everything that happened to her on the news. It was the latest story for the press and reporters even rang there bell, trying to interview her. And now that Mason's death penalty was being determined it grew even worse.

"How are you feeling, Alex?" Jerry asked, attempting to distract her from the customers.

"Okay." She glanced at the clock on the wall, which read six- fifty-six, meaning Dean would be here in four minutes. "Do you want me to help out for a few minutes? It seems kind of crowded."

"No, no. We've got it. Thanks." Theresa smiled, once again. "Plus, we don't want you to get dirty."

"That's Dad's job." Alex lets a small giggle escape from her lips, before her Father gave a defensive look.

"I can't help it." And just as he said it, the ketchup he was refilling, squirted onto his white shirt. He looked back and forth between his daughter and wife, who were both laughing. "This is why I don't wear white."

Dean walked into the sub station, waving at Max as he passed. "Hey gorgeous."

"Hi." She smiled, standing up to greet him. He leaning his lips against hers, pulling her into a kiss. "Okay, bye Mom and Dad. We're going out to dinner."

"Okay, have fun." Jerry smiled, watching his daughter intertwine her hand with Dean's. He waited for the two of them to leave, before continuing with his work.

"You look beautiful tonight. Well, you always look beautiful." He gave her hand a squeeze, before they got into his car.

"Thanks." She blushed, turning on the radio. "So...what's this surprise you've been talking about?"

"You'll see. You're so impatient."

"Sorry." Alex laughed. But her smile suddenly dropped as they passed Dean's cousin's house. It felt like deja vu. Another high school party was being held and every where people were hooking up, drinking, or doing drugs. And there was a fight developing, just like last time. "Dean, please don't go in."

"No, I'm not. I'm going to call the police, like I should have last time. God, he's such an idiot. You'd think he would have learned from what happened last time. Especially since they got in trouble with the police." Dean shook his head, coming to a stop in front of the house. "I'll call my aunt instead. She can handle it." Alex stared at the party, while Dean called his Aunt. Suddenly everything from that night came flooding back to her.

Dean pulled to the curb in front of his cousin's house, shaking his head at the party being held. It was out of control. People were drinking, selling and doing drugs, hooking up with people they barely knew, and stumbling and slurrping their words every where they went. "I'll only be a minute. Just stay here." Dean slipped out of the car, locking the car behind him.

"Dean, I'm not letting you go alone." She unlocked the door and hopped out of the car, her water bottle in her hand. Her heels clicked against the pavement as she walked up the driveway. She walked inside where she spotted Dean across the room talking to his cousin. She made her way over to Dean, smiling at his cousin.

"Alex, why didn't you stay in the car?" He asked, eyeing the approaching guy behing Alex.

"I didn't want to stay in the car and I don't want you coming in here by yourself." She replied, startled as a hand was resting on her waist. She turned around to face a familiar face. She couldn't name him, but she would sometimes see him in the school hallways.

"Hey sexy lady." He pulled her hips closer to him, resting his lips against hers. She pulled out of his grip, pushing him away from her. "Oh, I see. You're playing hard to get."

"No, I have a boyfriend." She rolled her eyes, placing her hand in Dean's..

"Stay away from her." Dean gritted his teeth, taking a step closer to the guy.

"Or what?" The guy raised his eyebrows, before giving a nod to Alex who was behind Dean. "What do you say we go upstairs? You're just so hot I can't take my eyes off of you."

Dean shook his head, before pushing his shoulders, causing him to stumble backwards. The guy pushed him back and a fight was started. Alex placed her water bottle on the side table beside the chair, before pulling Dean back. "It's not worth it, Dean." And then the guy dissapeared, just like that.

"I can't believe this. We should of never have come here."

"Dean, calm down. Drink some water." Alex handed him the bottle and he opened it furiously, before taking a few sips. He handed it back to her and she too drank some.

"C'mon, it's late, let me get my I-pod and we're out of here. And I'm calling the police." Dean took her hand, leading her upstairs. All the rooms were closed and everyone up there was making out. Dean shook his head, leading her into his cousin's room. "Luckily his room is off limits."

"I thought your cousin was nice." She plopped down at the end of the bed while Dean searched through his drawer.

"He is, but sometimes he can be so ignorant. I feel bad ratting him out, but this party is out of control. I just...ugh!"

"Calm down." Alex stared at him as he shuffled through his cousin's items.

"God, where'd he put my I-pod?" Dean searched through the next draw, before finally pulling it out. He looked up at Alex, whose face looked as if something was wrong. "You okay?"

"I just got dizzy all of a sudden." She put her hand to her forehead, taking a deep breath.

"Well...we can just wait here for a few minutes. Maybe it will pass." He sat down beside her, suddenly becoming tired. "I'm exhausted."

"You probably got yourself all worked up." Alex laid down, before Dean laid beside her. "I'm feeling really tired too." Alex sighed, connecting her lips with Dean's. And then they both fell alseep, as if the sedation was contagious.

Alex's eyes opened fifteen minutes later. Everything was blurry, almost like a dream. Dean was gone. She stood up, feeling the room spin. She stumbled down the steps, looking for Dean. People were starting to leave, but the party was still on. She glanced at the clock, reading 12:22. She couldn't remember how she had gotten here. She plopped down on the closest chair, her vision becoming faint. She felt large hands grab her. She opened her eyes and saw a blurry face. But even through the bluriness she could tell who it was. She wanted to move, but she felt as if she couldn't. He carried her upstairs, throwing her onto a bed. First he removed her shoes, next her skirt. He tossed them to the side, before pulling off her shirt. She squirmed at his touch, but he held her down. Next he unclipped her floral patterned bra, tossing it to the side. And last he slipped of her black underwear. She shivered at his touch, opening her eyes again. And then everything was ruined. Everything was taken away from her. She wanted to scream. She wanted to move, but it felt impossible. As if it were one of those nightmare, where no matter how hard you tried to scream, it wouldn't come out.

It felt like hours before he stopped his assualt, but in reality it was only ten minutes. He took his time throwing his clothes on, pulling a camera out of his jacket. She heard the clicking of the camera and the flash hurt her eyes. He slammed the door behing him, causing Alex's head to throb.

Then she woke up hours later and everything was clearer. But everything that happened just hours before was a huge blur. Like one of those dreams you know you had, but can't remember a thing that happened in the morning. She jumped out of the bed, quickly threw her clothes on, and ran downstairs and out of the house. She pulled out her cell phone, quickly calling Harper.

"Hello, earth to Alex?" Dean shook her arm and she snapped back to reality. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head, letting tears slip down her face. "I know what happened that night. I can remember everything."

Review!