The last two weeks of school went by fast; I can't believe it's done already. Today was the last day; I'm going to miss seeing Rachel almost every day. I know I was excited about school ending but now it's kind of depressing. What am I going to do with my time now that it's over? Maybe I could get a job at the diner. They love me there I'm sure they would hire me. I'll have to ask about it next week. I really just want to enjoy a few days of sleeping in and not worrying about any kind of work.

Ding.

Rachel: Turn on the channel 7 news you should see this.

Me: Why what happened?

Rachel: Just turn it on its serious.

Me: Alright, I'll turn it on.

I ran upstairs to my room and clicked the power button on my remote to turn the TV on. I clicked the number 7 on my remote and waited for the channel to come on. It usually takes a couple of seconds for it to change, I don't know why.

"16 year old Chelsea Hanson's body has been found in Lake Mead. She has multiple stab wounds, the police are still investigating. If you have any information please call the police department."

She was missing for a little over two weeks. What kind of monster would do that? I looked at her picture on the television, she was beautiful. Chelsea had long blonde wavy hair. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean and she had a perfect smile, the kind of smile that could make your day better. It's a shame that she died, I wish I had the chance to know her. The two missing girls before her were never found. The first girl was 17, her name is Kayla Hart. The second girl that went missing was 15 and her name is Savanna Lloyd.

I realized that I needed to start paying more attention to the news. It's important to know what's going on around you. Thinking about the missing girls gave me the creeps. Could they be connected? Where is Kayla and Savanna? There were so many questions without any answers. It's a scary thing; it's something that you wouldn't expect to happen. I felt sorry for Chelsea, but because of her death I have learned that I needed to keep my guard up. I'm not going to let something like that happen to me.

Rachel: Isn't that horrible? She wasn't much younger than us.

Me: I know I really can't believe it. It's so sad!

Rachel: I know it is. Be safe on your date tomorrow Al, there's a sicko out there.

Me: I will I'm sure Alex won't let anyone touch me. I'll be fine, don't worry about me.

Rachel: I hope you're right.

Me: I am right! Don't start putting those crazy thoughts in my head. I'm still going.

Rachel: Do you want me to come to? We can have a double date; it will be so much fun!

Me: Maybe next time, I want to see how we click first. I'm exhausted from all those finals this week I need to take a nap.

Rachel: OK text me tomorrow after your date I want to know all about it!

Me: Don't worry, I will! Bye.

I plugged my phone into the charger and crawled into my bed. I started thinking about the missing girls and where they could be. There was a sick person out there and it could be anybody. I started yawning and fell right to sleep.

Four hours later.

I woke up to a knocking sound on my bedroom door. I checked the time on my phone and it was already 9:07 pm, I couldn't believe I slept that long. I walked to my bedroom door and found my mom standing there. She was wearing a beautiful green summer dress, and her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. She looked happy.

"Hey mom, what's going on?" I asked her, she never comes to my room.

"Nothing, I was just waking you up so you could eat dinner with me. We haven't really spent much time together lately so I decided we should go to the movies tonight. I thought it would be nice since today was your last day of school." She said with a smile on her face.

"That sounds awesome! I would love that. What did you make for dinner?" I asked happily.

"I didn't make anything; we're going to the diner. I know you love that place." I stared at her in shock. She never wants to go to the diner with me; after my father died that was the end of the place for her. She always said that it was too hard for her to go there. It was the complete opposite for me, but I understood. My dad's death really took a toll on her.

"I'll be down in five minutes, I need to get ready." I said in excitement. I gave her a quick hug and ran down the hall to the bathroom.

"Don't take too long or we are going to miss the movie!" She shouted after me.

"I'll be quick, Mom. I promise!" I yelled back.

I walked down the hall to the bathroom and immediately noticed my caveman hair. I opened the drawer and grabbed my brush. I started brushing the left side and it was no problem. Once I got to the right side I had a few knots, I had to run the bristles of the brush through my hair a couple of times. Once I got to the back part of my hair it hurt so badly. My hair had the mother of all knots. How am I supposed to brush this out? I hate how my hair knots so easily. I always see girls around and their hair is perfect, how do they get their hair so nice? I started pulling the knot apart with my hands and ran the brush through again. It hurts. I kept brushing until it finally came out. I rushed down the stairs so we could get going. Mom and I don't go out much together because one of us was always busy. This is going to be a good mother daughter night.

It only took us a minute to get to the diner it's literally just down the road. We took our seats in the bar stools. It's been so long since my mom came here with me. It's just like old times, except there's that one seat that's empty. It will always be empty.

"Can I take your order?" the waitress asked as I snapped out of my thoughts. I never seen her before she must be new.

"I'll have the steak and eggs, with a coke." my mom replied to the lady.

"How would you like that cooked?"

"Medium-well." my mom smiled to the lady.

"What would you like?" the waitress looked at me smiling.

"I'll have the spicy chicken sandwich and a chocolate milkshake. Thanks." being here with my mom is hard but I'm happy she decided to come. She never really comes here anymore. After my dad died the things we did with him just went away.

My mom didn't say anything but she didn't have to. I saw the look in her eyes, she missed him. I come here because I feel him here; this is my small escape to happiness. My mom is different, she gets depressed. I wish she would think about it the way I do.

Our food came out and it was delicious, as always. This is the only diner I'll ever go to. After we finished our food my mother paid the bill.

We headed to the car so we could make it to our destination.

Ding. New message on Chat and Meet.

Sam: Hey princess, what are you up to?

Me: Hey. I'm spending time with my mom; I'll talk to you later.

Sam: Oh. Message me when you're not busy.

Me: I will. Bye.

I turned my phone off so I can enjoy my night with my mom. I don't want any distraction from Sam.

Once we arrived to the theater we picked up our tickets and headed straight to theater 12. I wanted to see this move for a while now. A True Romance is what it's called. It's about a man that's engaged but it's to the wrong woman. He breaks it off to be with his old college girlfriend.

The movie was amazing, it was the sweetest thing. I feel bad for the fiancée but the heart wants what the heart wants. I love romantic movies, they make my heart happy.

It was 1:30 am when we got home and my mother went to bed. She had work tomorrow, but I'm happy we spent time together. I went up to my room and turned my phone back on. I'm wide awake; maybe that nap earlier wasn't a good idea.

Ding. New text message from Alex.

This text was from two hours ago, I better open it.

Alex: Hey beautiful! Are you ready for tomorrow?

Alex: Are you trying to blow me off? You could have just said no.

Me: I'm sorry; I was at the movies with my mom. My phone was turned off. I'm not going to blow you off, don't worry.

Alex: Do you want me to pick you up or meet you there?

I started thinking for a minute. I don't think I want him to know where I live before I actually meet him.

Me: I'll meet you there.

Alex: Cool so I'll see you there at 5:30 pm tomorrow. I can't wait.

Me: Neither can I, it's going to be awesome!

Alex: I'm going to get some sleep so I can be ready tomorrow. Goodnight beautiful.

Me: Goodnight!

I'm so anxious; I don't think I could sleep right now even if I wanted to. Maybe I should text Sam.

Me: Hey are you still up.

Sam: Yeah, I wanted to wait for you to message me. I like to talk to you before I go to sleep.

Me: That's sweet of you. I just wanted to say goodnight.

Sam: Goodnight, princess.

I don't want to lead Sam on just in case things with Alex work out. I think it was best to end the conversation. I turned the TV on and watched the news for a little bit. It was the same story I watched earlier. I fell right asleep.

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What do you think is going to happen in the next chapter?