"Yes! Finally!" I exclaimed as the final bell rung signaling our freedom as Mitchie just laughed. We gathered our things and made a trip to our lockers before exiting the school building. We normally walked to my house after school, and today was no different.
"So Alex, are you planning to actually study tonight?" Mitchie asked me.
"Psh Please. Since when do I study?"
"Aw C'mon Lex I promised Selena I'd help get your grades up. How am I supposed to do that if you're not going to help any?"
"Not my fault you told my mom you'd try to do the impossible." She rolled her eyes and seemed to be about to respond when she was grabbed by the arm and pulled to the side.
"ALEX!" She screamed terrified and I immediately took hold of her other arm and yanked her towards me. Whoever had grabbed her was pulled as well and he came stumbling out in front of us. I pulled my best friend into a hug and she clung to me desperately. She was shaking so badly and she started crying. I looked to the intruder to find it was the asshole from earlier.
"What the hell!? Stay away from us!" I screamed at him pulling Mitchie faster down the street trying to get away from him. The man regained his composure and followed us.
"LEAVE US ALONE!" I shouted at him as he tried to get in step with me.
"Ms. Russo Please, I'll only take a moment of your time!"
"I said No!" He reached out to stop me again and Mitchie screamed, burying her head back into my neck. Now I was completely pissed. Who does he think he is!?
"Alexandra please-"
"If you don't leave right now, I'm calling the cops!" I threatened and he actually laughed.
"Go ahead, let me just say though, I've got quite a few connections. The cops wont touch me." He had this sadistic disgusting smirk on his face that made me just want to slap him. I stopped walking. Keeping one arm wrapped around Mitchie, I used my free one to to dig my phone out of my pocket.
"Don't believe me? Okay that's your call" The sleeze told me. I rolled my eyes and used speed dial. I listened to it ring for a bit as I had it on speaker before Momma's voice came through the phone.
"Hey sport, what's up?" The man reached for my phone quickly, but I kept it out of his reach.
"You know that guy that was at our house this morning?" I asked her getting straight to the point. "He followed us to school and now he's following us home and he wont leave us alone. He's freaking Mitch out, and theres only so much I can do to not kick his ass" Normally my parents did not condone that kind of language from me, but right now I'm sure they couldn't care less about that.
"What!?" She sounded pissed as well. "Okay where are you at? We'll come get you" She said. I opened my mouth to respond when he knocked the phone from my hand. I watched it fly far out on the street and get demolished as it was met with a car tire.
"What the fuck!? That was new!" I exclaimed.
"Look, I tried doing this the easy way, but you're too damn stubborn." He said viciously.
"Wha-" I was cut off He grabbed me and slammed me against a brick building. Mitchie had gotten out of my grasp just in time so that she wasn't hurt.
"Alex!" I could tell this was definitely causing her to relive what happened so long ago. The poor girl was so traumatized, and this was not helping.
The man held me up against the wall, his face was inches from mine and I could smell the horrid stench of his breath.
"Listen up bitch. Not everyone is as fucking lucky as you. We actually have to work our asses off just to make a living. The least you could do is give me a few answers then we can part ways and I won't have to deal with you ever again. I glared at him not showing anything but anger towards him.
"Well I don't know why I have to answer some stupid questions, and If my parents don't want me talking to you, I'm going to listen to them. Don't think you're getting anything out of me like this." It was all so confusing to me. Why would me answering questions help him make a living? If he really is part of the paps, shouldn't he be hunting down some celebrity to invade on their personal space rather than messing with a highschooler?
"How fucking hard is it to answer a few questions!? Your mom used to so why not you?"
"My mom? Why would she answer any questions? Why would you even be remotely interested in us!? Don't you have some celebrity to stalk elsewhere?" Wait, maybe he wanted information on mom's art. People were buying her stuff like crazy, maybe she's the next Picasso or something. I heard a grunt from behind him and I craned my next to see Mitchie struggling with something. Her foot was caught in a storm drain and she was struggling to get it loose.
"Mitchie!" I exclaimed when I saw that her ankle was bleeding. What the hell happened?"
Mitchie's POV
I fought back tears as Alex got slammed against a wall. I went to go to her side, but my foot fell through the storm drain on the edge of the sidewalk. I tried to pull it out, but it wouldn't budge. The man got up in her face and was saying something quietly that I couldn't hear. I looked back down to my foot and started turning it each and every way I could think to get it loose when I felt a sharp sting. I looked closer to see a sharp piece of metal sticking out and stabbing my ankle, drawing blood. I grunted trying to ignore the pain as I tried to get it loose.
"Mitchie!" Alex exclaimed from behind the man and when she did, he shoved her again. I kept getting bits of flashbacks, seeing the woman who was my worst nightmare. My mom. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't block them out. I gritted my teeth and yanked harder on my leg, only causing more pain. It was at least sprained by now and was covered in my blood. I tried a few more times and finally got it free. I fell backwards and expected to meet the pavement, but was surprised when two arms caught me around the waist. I looked over my shoulder to see Alex holding me and I looked behind her and spotted the bastard on the ground holding his jaw.
"Hold on" She told me wrapping my arms around her neck as she picked me up bridal style. I clung to her as she started running down the street. The man had gotten up and was about to chase us when he tripped and fell. Despite the situation, I laughed.
Alex turned a few corners and soon I was sure we had lost him.
"Okay I'm pretty sure we lost him" I told Alex as she slowed down. She looked around before continuing walking at a slower pace. "Um You can put me down now" I told her and she shook her head.
"No, There's no way you're walking on that ankle. We're going to get you to the hospital" She told me. "Can you get your phone out and call my parents?" I nodded at her request and retrieved my phone from my jacket pocket. I dialed the number and let it ring.
"Mitchie thank God, are you guys okay? Where are you? What happened?" Demi's voice came through the phone in a panic.
"Yeah we're.. okay" I said not so sure.
"You don't sound so sure" I sighed.
"I hurt my ankle and now Alex insists on carrying me to the hospital, so that's where we're headed now. We're at the cross where Elm and 11 meet" I told her.
"Okay stay right there, we're coming to get you" She told me I nodded even though she couldn't see it.
"Okay we'll be waiting" I told her before hanging up. Alex found a bench and she sat me down before taking off her sweater and carefully but firmly wrapped my ankle with it applying pressure.
"Are you okay? I mean besides you're ankle.." Alex asked worried. I nodded.
"Are you? That had looked like it hurt." I said reaching up and gingerly touching the back of her head. She winced.
"I'll be fine. It's you I'm more worried about."
"Well no need to worry about that. I'm fine now thanks to you" I told her and she offered me a smile. Gosh I loved seeing her smile. I wish we didn't have to go through this, though I'll admit it'd be easier if Alex knew about her parents. Yes I know, and I'm one of the key reasons she doesn't. I found out about them being famous when I was eight. My mom had been some crazy psycho fan and I stumbled across some stuff. I really liked there music and I was sad that they weren't going to continue it anymore. When I had found out I confronted them about it when Alex wasn't around. They told me it was true and that they didn't want Alex to know. They didn't really give me a reason, but I could tell it was important to them, so being attached at the hip with her, i was included in all her conversations and had many a times prevented her from finding out. Sometimes I just wished I would slip up so that she knew, I mean I never really saw the harm in it.
"They're here" Alex's voice brought me out of my thoughts to see Selena and Demi pull up and rush out of the car. Selena made it out first and she brought Alex into a hug before Demi came up to me. She unwrapped my leg to take a look at it. She went back to the car as I was the next one to be pulled into Selena's hug. They always treated me as one of their own and I couldn't be more thankful than I am to have Alex and her family in my life. Alex explained what happened while Demi came back with a first aid kit and started cleaning my ankle.
"Why does he keep pestering us!?" She asked angrily after she had explained. Selena and Demi shared a look before saying that they can talk about it later. Demi Picked me up and brought me to the car setting me on the seat so that my leg was up and resting on Alex's lap as we drove to the hospital.
When we got there, Demi came and picked me up again and carried me into the ER where we were met with the last person we wanted to see.
"Ah The Russo's!" He said acting all polite and happy to see us. The minute I saw him, I started to get sucked back into my memories. I was fucked up in the head pretty badly. All I could see was my own mother hitting me repeatedly. I barely registered that I started trembling. I hated feeling this. I felt Demi bring me in closer to her trying to comfort me while Selena went to confront the Pap guy.
"Mommy Please stop!" My five year old self cried as my mother slapped me across the face before she shoved me on the ground and started kicking me in the side.
"Mitchie, it's okay. You're okay" I heard a voice say and I was brought back to reality to find myself laying in a hospital bed with Alex hovering over me. She reached out and wiped my tears away with the pad of her thumb. My ankle was in a cast and I wondered just how long I had been out of it. These flashes seemed barely a second or two to me when in reality they lasted a while.
"Here take this" She handed me my medicine and a glass of water and was rubbing my back as I took the pill.
"T-thanks" I stuttered still shaken up.
Alex's POV
I swear I'm going to murder that man. He had walked away before we could do anything to him and we didn't have any evidence to arrest him. Sure Mitch was hurt, but it was from the storm drain, not him so that didn't help. I hated seeing her this way and I would forever curse her mother for doing this to her. How could she harm someone so amazing, sweet and innocent? And her own flesh and blood too! We had gotten a restraining order for when she was let out of jail for 'good behavior' Honestly it's a load of crap, but at least she stayed away. All I could hope was that it stayed that way.