Author's NOTE: Hello again everyone! How have you been??? Well here it is the second update. The story is going to take a twist soon! Stay tuned! BE warned There will be a lot of OOC

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…:(

October 31, 1993

"You better come back here you good for nothing brat!"

I covered my ears with my palms. That was my stepmother calling me. Her voice sounds murderous and I didn't want to face her today. She had slapped and hit me too much already. I'm afraid I can't take it anymore so I hid in my closet. I peeked through the crack in my closet and saw my stepmom with a really pissed off look on her face. She was holding that stick that I'm always afraid of. I winced thinking about how much it would hurt if she hits me with it again.

I'm just seventeen. I never had much of a childhood. My mom had died when I was just turning ten. Before she died she told me that I was the most beautiful girl in the world and how proud she was to be my mother. She said even though she'll be gone, her love is with me always.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. 'If you love me mommy, how can you be so selfish to leave me?' And my dad remarried a cold-blooded women –Tanya, who is my stepmom today. Of course she hated me, and she found joy through my pain. Any self-esteem I had for myself was shattered and I was living a nightmare.

My closet door suddenly opened. "There you are you wicked girl!" My stepmom started cussing at me as she pulled me out and threw me onto the floor. I began to tremble because I knew what was going to happen next.

*Whack whack whack.*

I cried out in pain but I knew that no one is going to hear my cries. I desperately began to gasp for air. My heart was aching again. I couldn't breathe.

"Not again! Don't you see how much you're costing your father and me with your heart problems? If it wasn't for all these medical bills we wouldn't be so poor now!"

I had this heart condition where air would suddenly shut off and I couldn't breathe. The doctors are trying to save me by giving me a respirator and pills, but they're not sure how much longer I'll be able to live. My dad (who was a pathetic excuse for a man) came in.

He looked down at me with sorrowful eyes. He held my stepmom's arm lightly and said, "I think she had enough. You don't want her to have another attack. Calm down and let's have dinner."

"That's why I'm hitting her!" she yelled back at him, eyeing him with hateful eyes. "Why do you think I'm hitting her? She didn't go home after school, probably hanging out with her boyfriend, or something…"

"I don't have a boyfriend! The teacher wanted to—"

But I was cut off by the whack of my stepmom's stick. I cried silently in pain and turned away. I didn't want to look at her. My dad said, "Well, dinner's just going to be a little late today. Mina, say sorry to your mom."

Despite the pain, I managed to say, "Sorry mom. Please forgive me."

My dad handed me some money. "Here. Go buy food, and hurry with dinner." My stepmom's temper simmered down a little as my dad lead her out of my room.

I picked up the money and headed for the store. The same store I go there everytime. In fact the store owner probably knows me by now. He knew what kind of hell I was going through. I finished my shopping and checked out.

"That'll be $3.49."

"What?" I asked. "Umm…Mr. Johnson. That's impossible. With all this stuff it should be around $15."

"I know Mina." he gave me a sad smile. "The exact price is $14.32. Why don't you keep the change for yourself?"

I opened my mouth in shock. "M. Johnson…I..I can't do that," I said as I handed him 20.

He only took five. "No. Keep it. I know that stepmom of yours don't give you any money."

I looked up at him with tears in my eyes. Here he was, just a friend reaching out to me. I said thanks and headed for home.

I decided to take a shortcut home but as I passed the alley, a hand pulled me in. I was knocked to the ground and a shadow hovered over me. I began to scream but the same hand covered my mouth.

"Shut up or I'll kill you!"

I shut my mouth instantly. I didn't want to die yet. In the moon's reflection I got a good look of my attacker. He was probably around the same age as me. His face and clothes were dirty but he had extremely good features. And those beautiful auburn eyes that stared into mine. But this was not a time to think about such things.

He held a table knife at my throat and said, "Give me all your money or I'll kill you." I panicked but I knew what to do. I used the move I wanted to use on my stepmom every time she pinned me down and hit me. I kicked him hard right into his family jewels. He gasped and fell to the floor, dropping the knife. I picked up my groceries and ran.

I guess you can call me the dumbest person alive. I was afraid I had kicked the boy too hard and permanently damaged him. Besides, since my life is hell already, I didn't want him to go through it too. So I turned back.

When I came back to the alley, the boy was still lying on the floor. He was moaning softly. I lifted him up gently. "Are you okay?" I asked. He shook his head no. "I'm sorry," I said to him. I reached into my pocket and pulled the money Mr. Johnson gave me. "If you need money, then here. All I have is ten dollars."

I placed the money in his hand and walked away. He looked at me with this weird expression that I couldn't read. I picked up my groceries and this time I left without turning back. I could tell the boy was watching me as I was walking away…

Edward stared at the girl who had just walked away. 'She must be the nicest or dumbest person in this world,' he thought. He began to stand up but had to use the wall for balance. That girl had kicked him a little too hard. Edward had just run away from home again. He had ran away so many times that the alley was his second home. When he ran away he always stole his parents' money.

They were the richest people in all of Hawaii but they were also the most messed up family. His dad would have a lot of women with him and would betray a friend if it would bring him money. His mom, on the other hand, was an exact duplicate of his dad. She always had these young men around her and spend money like crazy. His parents were divorced and lived on opposite ends of Hawaii. 'Bitch and bastard,' thought Edward.

When he ran away this time, he didn't have the chance to steal any money from his dad. So he had no choice but to rob somebody. When he saw the young girl walking out of the store, she seemed to be the perfect target. But things didn't turn out as planned.

Edward kept wondering why the girl gave him the money even though he could have killed her. Edward knew he couldn't take the money because she was the first person in his messed up life that was nice to him because she wanted to be, not because she wanted something from him. He wanted to give the money back. When he gained some of his strength back, he began to chase her…

Author's Note: Review if you want to know what happens next :D!!! Hurry…press the little buttom!! PLz?