A/n: I'm sorry for upload so late but I have really long school hours. Next chapter will hopefully be up this weekend! x
I'm walking to nowhere. It's when I reach their street I realize I've been walking toward the 'Fosters' house. I carefully walk to their house and look inside. I see everyone eating at the kitchen table, everyone but Stef. I assume she's not home yet. I just hope she's alright. I get pen and paper from my bag and start writing. I put it in their mailbox and walk away towards the beach. I need to clear my head. I take off my shoes. The sand feels really nice on my feet. I sit down and put my bag underneath my head. I close my eyes for a second and listen to the sound of the waves. It makes me feel peaceful. When I open my eyes I see two men walking on the beach and recognize them from before. I quietly stand up and hide behind the house of the lifeguard on the beach.
"If we don't kill her before tomorrow, he will kill us." I hear one of the men say.
"Maybe we should take that blonde cop and then ask for a trade." The other says. For a second I think about standing up and telling them not to hurt her but then the other starts talking again.
"No, he specifically said no cops. I think that also includes not kidnapping one." I hear him say. I feel relief and stay hidden.
"How do we find her, now you shot Lucky? She ain't gonna visit him in the hospital, she's too smart for that." I manage to keep in a gasp. Lucky was the one that leaked my location? I think. He was the one that got me into human trafficking in the first place? I wonder if Nickey and Jason are in it too.
"Maybe we should pay a visit to that cop tonight." and with that they walk away. I want to stand up but I'm frozen.
After 5 minutes I start thinking. I need to warn Stef. I walk back to her house and when no one notices I walk around back. Lena is doing the dishes. I don't see anyone else so I assume they are upstairs.
I knock on the window and Lena looks up. I see surprise and relief on her face when she realizes it's me. She opens the door and hugs me tightly.
"Ashley, where have you been we were so worried." She says.
"I'll explain later but where is Stef, I need to know where Stef is."
"She's been looking for you since you left, she said she will come home in 30. Why what's wrong."
"They're going after her to get to me. You need to call her." I say. Lena picks up the phone and dials Stef's number.
"Stef if you hear this call me asap. Ashley is here and she's okay but she says they are after you to get to her. Please call me." Lena says to Stef's voice mail. When she puts down the phone and looks at me she sees my shoulder.
"What happened?" She asks shocked.
"I got shot." I say. I almost forgot about it.
"We need to get you to a hospital."
"No, please can't you just fix it up here, we need to wait for Stef." I say and Lena agrees. She goes upstairs to get her first aid kit. When she comes back down I take off my shirt and she starts on the wound.
"I'm so sorry." I apologize.
"We were so worried, where have you been?" Lena asks as she cleans the wound.
"With some friends." I say. I don't want to tell her yet that I met them on the street and one of them betrayed me.
We hear the front door. Lena drops the medical supplies and stands up to see if it's Stef but I stop her. What if it's not Stef.
"Lena?" I hear Stef's voice and I let Lena go. They meet in the doorway and Lena hugs Stef. When they pull away Stef notices me. When she want to hug me she sees the blood.
''Are you okay?'' She asks me.
''Yeah, Lena was just fixing it up.'' I start. ''but they are after you. The men are after you to hurt me.'' I continue. Before Stef can respond, we hear footsteps coming towards the kitchen.