Chapter One
She sat up off the pier and felt the morning dew on her skin and clothes. She looked to the side of her and saw one of her best friends lying unconscious.
"Wake up. They got us last night but we're still alive." The first girl said.
"Five more minutes, Mom..." The paler of the two sat up in a daze. "Did last night happen? Who were those people?" She remembered the night before.
*~*Flashback*~*
They walked along the pier laughing and joking. After the 'Congratulations on Being Engaged to be Engaged' party and they were both a little tipsy. It felt safer to walk home than to try and drive. Their heels clicked on the pier then the first girl stopped.
"I hear something. Start walking and joking but stop when I say 3."
The second one nodded her head and laughed a hard belly laugh that no one could tell was fake. No one could ever tell if she was lying unless she wasn't trying very hard. She continued on in her own private world of a joke no one told until given the signal.
"1....... 2...... 3!" the first girl whispered.
When they stopped, they could still hear foot steps though they knew it was no echo. They continued on, out of severe desperation to give themselves extra time to get away. After all, they were two young girls on the Harmony Pier on a Friday Night. The thoughts rushed into their head of what could happen to them, what would this someone do to them? but they knew what to do. They had to get away.
Running as hard as they could, they had to get away from the someone who was following them. All they thought was 'get away. run. get away.' Looking around behind crates, the first girl couldn't find a secure place to hide on the docks. Lord knows The Follower would probably find them. Her breath was coming in gasps and she knew she had to stop. She ducked behind a corner and motioned for the second girl to follow. Taking in deep breaths, they got ready. Soon, when their lungs were full, they'd be ready to go back to running away as fast and as far as they had to.
Suddenly, someone grabbed the second girl who was farther behind and covered her mouth. She tried to cry out but before she had a chance to she was hit on the back of the head with something hard and slumped to the ground.
"Sleep tight, little one. For you are in for a surprise tomorrow." The first girl was a few feet away and lying on the pier, already unconscious. One of her best friends comotose was the last thing she saw and the raspy voice was the last she heard as she slipped into the dark.
*~*End Flashback*~*
"Hah, they won't get away with this. Never in a million years. They'll be found out and put in jail for what they did to me." She smugly said to herself as she walked into the main part of town.
"I'm going back my house. I wanna tell Dad what happened so he can get to the bottom of this. He's probably worried, scared I was out all night. I don't even want to know what he'd think if he knew I was drinking and you know how father's get about daughters. A son is a son until he takes a wife, but a daughter's a daughter for life... That's Daddy's motto for sure." The second girl said then proceeded to take out a compact mirror and checked the blunt haircut that was just below her chin. She loved her hair this way because it made her more mature looking even though she had worn her hair that way since she was in grade school.
"All right, I'll see you later. I think I may go to the main house or back home. You know my cell number. Give me a call so we can get our story straight." The first girl half-shouted as she walked away, along the sidewalks of this quaint Maine fishing community.
Around her were all the shops of town: the small grocery store, the police station, streets leading to other neighborhoods. Smiling, she looked into a store window and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. She pulled a brush out of her purse and went on to brush out her brown hair.
"Hey, Theresa, I thought you were still in Bermuda. Why didn't you call me when you got back?" Whitney asked her.
Theresa looked at her in bewilderment, turning away from the shop window after fixing her hair. "What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in New York helping Chad? Since when was I in Bermuda? Do you know what happened to me last night? I-"
"Quit it, Theresa. Chad was in an accident yesterday outside of the Police Station and he may not live. He might die trying to save my life and all you can think of is if you got Ethan to say he loves you?" She yelled angrily and stomped off. She spun around on her heel, pointed off to where the second girl went and said, "I can't believe you were talking to her either!" then left in a huff.
"What the hell just happened here?" Theresa asked no one in particular. "I'll go talk to Ethan. Maybe he knows." She walked in the direction of the Crane Mansion.
*At the Crane's*
Ethan unpacked his suitcase and was about to go and take a shower when he heard the doorbell ring. "Don't worry, Madeline. I'll get it." Ethan shouted out as he went down the stairs to the doorway.
"Hi, Theresa. Didn't I just drop you off?" Ethan asked when he saw Theresa in the door way. He noticed something was different about her, the way she held herself or something...
"Ethan! Oh, I had to talk to you. I just had the weirdest fight with Whit, when did she get back in town anyway? Oh, nevermind that. I just wanted to tell you how much I missed you. I love you, you know that?" Theresa said as she wrapped her arms around Ethan's neck and kissed him passionately. Ethan put his arms around her waist and continued to kiss back until he realized where and who he was.
"Theresa, what's going on? Why did you just kiss me? Did you say you.... love me?" Ethan asked pulling away from her.
"Of course, hon, what's going on?" Theresa asked with traces of fear in her eyes. She was confused and wanted to know why Ethan was acting this way.
"Theresa, come on. You know I'm engaged..." Ethan started.
"WHAT?! Since when? To who? When my Papa hears about this-- OOH!!!" and with that Theresa stalked out in tears leaving a very confused Ethan behind.
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