"She came to them solid and strong, and they broke her into pieces, breaking her till she was left in fragments, in portions. So she went through a few years lost and miserable, depressed and angry.
Now she is her own universe, finding light from her dark years, creating galaxies in herself, being whole. She's born again, creating herself every day. She's fixing the cracks in her soul, the dents in her heart."

-Romana Rubyy

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The sting of unrequited love is usually healed with time.

But in Kate Russo's unfortunate case, unrequited love disguised into something sinister.

Something which dared to threaten the naive girl's life.

After the muddy humiliation that shattered her popular image, Kate Russo was nothing but a wreck.

With an inkling about who was behind it, Kate marched towards an abandoned alley, not far from her house.

If the rumors were to be believed, Alexander McAllister and his two friends would be found there.

And they were.

As she walked on the cobbled alleyway, the sight of a garbage can wrinkled her nose at once.

If the vines crawling up the window sills and the crumbling plaster that enveloped the stone bricks weren't unnerving enough, the sight of the three boys surely was.

Kate licked her lips, her palms balled into fists as she crept closer.

"It's a pleasure to see you, beautiful." Alexander extended a tattooed arm, his dark eyes hinting a smile. "But why are you here?"

Kate had no time for handshakes. "Stop fooling around, Alexander. You know why I am here."

"To meet me, of course."

Alexander's friends chuckled, their laughter irking Kate and she balled her fists tighter.

"Why did you ruin my performance?" Kate almost shouted but tried to keep her tone low.

Alexander tilted his face to the left, his eyebrows scrunched. "Why would I do that? I like you, Katie."

"It's Kate." The muscles in her jaw moved.

"Doesn't matter."

"Answer me." Kate shouted as she clutched the collars of his T-shirt.

If the guy was angry, he didn't show it. His face was devoid of emotions. Kate found him staring at her as if she was some puzzle.

The corner of his lips tugged upwards in a smirk as he held her palms. "Trying to get closer, aren't we?"

Disgusted, Kate yanked her palms away. "Don't you dare touch me with your filthy hands, Alexander."

"Call me Alex, babe. I would love that."

All hints of a smile were gone from his face. His friends watched the exchange quietly, but they appeared worried.

"The hell I care about what you love or not." Kate gritted her teeth. "Just answer my question and I'll leave."

"You can leave only when I want you to." Alexander chuckled. "I am not done with you yet, beautiful."

The setting sun left behind darkness, which lurked in every corner. The hair on Kate's neck stood up, her heart beating faster.

Danger.

She stepped back but Alexander had already grabbed her arm, his palm commanding and strong.

Despite her fear, she stared at him dead in the eye, throwing his palm away. "Get over the fact that I rejected your ugly ass."

"Bet you had your revenge when you ruined my performance."

She wasn't sure if he heard her or not. He was interested in the spider approaching his shoe.

Kate found him glancing up amusedly, the spider stomped under his shoe mercilessly.

Kate's blood boiled. "You are sick! Sick! Why did you kill it?"

Alexander shrugged. "I was bored."

She stepped back, ready to run, but he grabbed her arm again.

"Now, I am bored again. Let's do something fun."

"Get the gun," he ordered one of his friends.

A small machine rested in his hand and Kate found him leaning towards her.

She was tied to a chair, but that didn't stop her from kicking her legs wildly.

She shrieked as he grinned. "What are you going to do to me!"

"I would love to see my name on your arm."

"You won't--"

Kate's mouth was taped, her words coming out in muffles.

She shook her head with widened eyes, hot tears running down her cheeks.

The machine whirred to life and without giving Kate a second, Alexander began inking her.

The tattoo stung like hell, the pain excruciating when the needle inked the skin of her bony inner arm.

If writing it simply wasn't enough, Alexander began styling the tattoo. He thickened some of the letters and created patterns as if he was painting.

Kate's tongue dried, the tears had left her cheeks tightened. The sight of her own blood made her uneasy.

What had she done? What had she gotten herself into? Would her family come looking for her? She should have never come here alone in the first place. Damn her anger and emotional self.

The tattoo ended just a little below her wrist. Against her pale skin, the blackness and redness looked like a slaughter.

Alexander yanked the tape from her mouth, smirking. His eyes held an eerie pride as he traced her arm with his finger.

"I am not done yet, beautiful."

Kate glanced at him, his eyes emotionless as he tugged her top down. Her chest was exposed and he let out a throaty chuckle.

"She is one of us." He laughed. "And you call yourself a girl, Katie."

Kate's cheeks reddened, her eyes threatening to spill their salty liquid. She gritted her teeth and stared at a wall full of graffiti.

The whirring resumed but was short-lived. She bent her head low, noticing the letter A carved on her chest.

The markings would fade or not, but the incident would be inked forever in her memory.

"You are lucky to have my name--"

Kate didn't spare him a chance to continue as her spit landed on his face.

The sudden rage storming in his eyes made her wonder if he was riled up now or had been hiding it.

A punch was rendered to her stomach, another and another.

Alexander's friends shrieked and tried to pull him back, but he rushed forward in mad haste.

"What the hell have you done!" One of the boys slapped Alexander.

Angered, Alexander plunged a knife in his friend's stomach.

Kate shrieked at the fight going on between the three. The other friend was stabbed as well and so was Alexander.

"What have... you... done..." One of the boys writhed on the floor and there was no response from the other one.

Alexander's eyes appeared glazed and Kate felt warmth circling her waist.

She glanced below, her eyes widening at the pool of blood spilt on the chair. Little streams of it mixed with the other's blood on the floor of the abandoned room.

And that was when the pain struck, the blows--the stabs made her howl, her eyes letting out waterfalls of tears.

Her body burned as if it was let on fire, the pain in her abdomen made her grit her teeth. Her eyes dropped to a close. She had to fight. She couldn't give up now.

Some time later, a figure rushed towards her, calling her name.

The lines between reality and imagination blurred as she stared ahead with drooping eyelids.

And then the picture became clear--it was Elena and there were more behind her. But the blackness against Kate's eyes didn't let her know.

Six months after the incident, she had inked her arm again--green aliens to cover the blackness of the name.

Looking back, Kate realized that a year could do a lot to a person.

Max's tearful eyes and cheeks tugged Kate's heart and she wiped them away.

He kissed the length of her arm, hugging it close to him. Her cheeks, forehead, and lips were kissed next and she returned the affection.

Kate found herself crushed in Max's hug, leaving no space between them--except for warmth.

And just like that, Maxwell Steele had glued all her broken pieces together.

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Hey, people! 💗 I'm back with a new update. Kate's past is revealed in this one.

I just wanted to know if the tense in the beginning and the present story were differentiated or not. What do you think? Was it confusing? Please let me know.

Had you imagined Kate's past and the reason behind her tattoo to be this? Were you close?

This was the first time I had written about someone like Alexander--he was a psychopath. Did he appear to be one? Please let me know.

Did you like this update? Yes?/No?

Thank you so much for reading, everyone. The Alien Memory👽 has crossed 9K reads and I can't express how happy I am.

If you liked this update and the previous ones, kindly leave a vote by clicking on the star sign below. Have a nice day/night. :)

Sneak-Peek of Episode 43:

The Alien Memory👽 wraps up with Ivan's POV. Stay tuned for the finale. Can't believe it's the end. 😭

Keep smiling! 💕
Lots of love❤💙
Sakina

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