“Okay, that’s it” Mike said decisively, and he pulled Deb up. “You go take a shower, then I’ll take care of dinner”
Reluctantly, Deb left the kitchen, and startled a little when she saw Ryan and Claire. She didn’t care much for Max’s opinion. She hurried to the hallway, and ran upstairs.
“Totally insane” Mrs. Weston noted.
“Shut up” Ryan snapped.
Mrs. Weston raised her eyebrows. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to strike a nerve”
“I’ll see if she’s okay” Max suggested, but as she stood, Claire put a hand on her arm.
“No, I got this” Claire said.
Deb’s back ached from...

As soon as Simon was out of prison, he dialed Emma’s phone number. Not that he had much of a choice; Max was standing right beside him, watching his every move.
“Shouldn’t we have done this at a police station?” Simon wondered, after he hung up. “So, they could track Emma’s phone?”
“No, because then they would’ve gotten in contact with Donovan, and we don’t want that” Max explained, in a teacher manner.
“And why don’t we want that?” Simon asked carefully, but then he figured it out himself. “You didn’t tell him, did you? You’re going behind his back”
“Whatever....

The guard closed the door behind him, after Max assured him she would be fine.
“How’s Deb? Did the FBI find her in time?” Simon asked agitated, even before Max sat down.
“She’s fine” Max replied soberly, as she sunk down. “I’m not here to talk about Deb. I want to talk about Emma Hill”
Simon shifted on his chair, and looked in any direction but Max’s. “What about her?” he finally muttered.
“I hear the two of you are pretty close” Max shrugged casually.
“That’s quite an exaggeration” Simon protested with raised eyebrows. “Joe took both of us under his wings, but...

When Deb left the prison faculty, a cab was waiting for her. She got in and gave the driver Joseph’s address.
“Can we stop at a clothing store?” Deb asked. “I need to buy some clothes”
The driver scoffed. “You’re telling me you can actually buy clothes in a clothing store?” he asked sarcastically.
Deb rolled her eyes. “Can we do it or not?” she asked irritated.
“I can stop, sure, but can you pay?” the driver asked. “They paid me to give you a ride home. Do you have any money to buy clothes?”
Crap, Deb thought. She had only worked one day, and Rob never paid her for...

Deb screamed, and Mike grabbed Max’s firearm, forcing her to turn around. “Are you out of your freaking mind?” he yelled at Max. “You can’t do that. She’s pregnant. You can’t freak her out like that”
“Freak her out?” Max found her voice back. “She’s totally insane. That was not on the job description”
“She’s not insane” Mike snapped defensive. “She’s suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder” He walked up to Deb, who was shaking from head to toe. “Are you alright?”
Deb shook her head. “I don’t know what came over me. Mike…Max is right. I’m...

After the doctor had left, Deb collapsed in Mike’s arms. He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed.
“This can’t be happening” she sobbed, desperately. “I can’t be pregnant, Mike. Not from him…not again”
Mike sank down on the bed, and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “It might not be his” he mumbled softly, mischievously, and hopeful.
Deb looked in his eyes, and he gazed back at her.
“Think, Deb, think really hard. When was the first time you felt sick?” Mike urged.
Deb looked down, thinking, reminiscing, and then looked up again. “It was before” she whispered,...

“You didn’t answer my question” Deb said, when she pulled back. She elaborated, when Mike frowned. “Beth. Is she okay?”
Mike’s eyelids fluttered shut, and Deb was alerted immediately.
“What is it? Did something happen to her?” Deb urged, starting to panic. “Mike, tell me!”
“I’m sorry, Deb” Mike sighed said, and he took her hand again. “The FBI found her, in her motel…There was nothing we could do”
Deb nodded, in understanding. “Can you…can you leave the room, please?” she asked, softly, nearly whispering.
“Deb” Mike pleaded. “Don’t do that. Don’t...

Two days later Deb found herself, lying in a hospital bed. She blinked, then closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, and everything around her became clearer, she saw Mike, sitting in the chair next to the bed.
She noticed he held a book in his hand. She realized what book it was. She would recognize it anywhere.
“No” she groaned desperately, and Mike’s eyes flew open. Deb’s hand reached out, and he wrongfully thought she was reaching out to him, so he took it.
“Hey” he said softly, and he stood, leaning over her. “Take it easy, okay. You’ve been through a lot”
“Mike,...

Ryan handed the book to Mike, who accepted it, but instead of opening it, he stared at the cover. He’d been wondering about Deb’s past for so long, and now that he had the answers, he hesitated.
“Are you alright?” Ryan asked unsure. “You want me to do it?”
“No” Mike said grim. He opened the book and looked. Ryan saw his face change from pink to red to purple to pale. “I’m going to kill him” Mike grunted, as he shut. He breathed heavily, through his nose. “I’m going to kill him!” he shouted, furiously.
“Mike, relax!” Ryan snapped, as Mike threw the book against the...

Deb sat on one of the two hospital beds, in the hospital wing of the school. The nurse was flashing a light in her eyes, to see if there were any signs of a concussion.
“Can you tell me your name?” she asked.
“Debra Parker” Deb replied.
“Who’s the president of the United States?” the nurse asked.
“George Bush” Deb answered correctly, and the nurse smiled, satisfied.
“You have some head, girl” she said. “I’m going to give you something for the headache. It might make you a little sleepy, but that’s okay. I don’t think you should be following any lessons anyway. Stay...

During the two hours before lunch break Lana tried to convince Deb about Richard’s good intentions.
“His mother is keeping him on a short leash. He’s a bit rebellious. He likes to stir things up a bit, but he’s always sorry afterwards” she said, on the way to the cafeteria.
“If he’s always sorry, he might want to try changing his ways” Holly interfered. She looked sharply at Deb. “You don’t have to go through with this, Debra. I can save a seat for you at my table”
“Oh, why don’t you go knit a hat and pull it over your head, so no one will have to look at your ass-looking...

When Deb opened the door she bumped into someone. She looked up and saw an older girl staring at her.
“Watch out where you going, dear” she said, but she didn’t sound mad. She looked behind Deb, and then back at her. “What were you doing in the basement? Students are allowed to go there”
Deb looked over her shoulder. Why hadn’t Richard come upstairs yet? She hadn’t kicked him that hard, had she?
“Richard…” she started, but the girl cut her off with a wave of her hand.
“Say no more” the girl said. “I know enough. Principal Mortimer asked me to look after you. She thought...

Fifteen minutes later the door of the principal’s office opened again and Debra walked outside, the principal right behind her.
The principal, a tall woman in her mid-forties, looked surprised at Richard, who hadn’t seemed to leave his spot the entire time.
“Richard, what are you doing here? The classes have already begun” she said reproaching.
Richard nodded at Debra. “I promised Mrs. Morgan I would look after her. I’m just keeping my word”
The principal grimaced. “Nice way to dodge classes, but alright. She needs books and stuff. You make sure she has everything she needs” It...

The next morning someone knocked softly on the door of the storage room. Deb slowly opened her eyes and sat up.
“Come in” she said sleepy.
The door opened and a girl entered the room.
“Mom says you have to get up” she said sweet. She was blond, too, but hers was a darker, a warmer shade.
Debra nodded and got out of bed. She turned to the bed and made it up. That was one of the house rules.
She walked to the door where the girl took her hand. She was a little surprised with the gesture, but smiled gratefully.
“My name is Lana” the girl introduced herself. “You’re Debra, right?...

Deb sadly watched Mike drive away in her car. She knew she had hurt him terribly with her suspicion and she wished she had the courage to confide in him, but she simply knew he wouldn’t understand.
“Are you coming?” Beth asked with a voice sweet as honey. Deb slowly turned around and nodded. She followed her sister inside and the latter closed the door.
Deb looked around indifferent. “Are you sure there’s room for two?” she asked careless.
“Yeah, sure” Beth assured Deb. “You can sleep in the bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch”
“I’m not sleeping in your bed” Deb protested....

Agnes stood in front of Wayne and Abigail’s house, her hand pressed against her mouth and tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I can’t believe this is happening” she sobbed, while shaking her head as if denying it would change anything.
“We’ll find her” a female cop assured her. “So, you say you found him like this?”
Agnes nodded. “The hospital told me these people took my cousin with them. So, I went here to ask them to give her back to me, so I could bring her back to her family, where she belongs”
She paused to blow her nose with the handkerchief the cop had offered her....

“What have you done?” Abigail shrieked as she stormed inside the room. Debra didn’t bother turning around; she just gazed at Abigail’s reflection.
Abigail touched Deb’s head and when she withdrew them, hair and blood stuck on her fingers, she stared at the them in horror. Shocked she grabbed for the hairbrush, determined to fix Deb’s hair. But truth was there was no fixing it.
Defeated Abigail shook her head. “Clean up your mess” she ordered sad. “Don’t come downstairs. I’ll bring you your food”
As if in slow motion Deb stood up and bent through her knees to pick up her...

One week later.
Dale was sitting at the table in his room. He held a picture of Deb in his hand. A single teardrop fell on it. “Oh, Debra” he sobbed. “Why did you have to leave? We could’ve had such a beautiful life together”
Beth walked inside from outside the kitchen.
“I made you some tea” she said careful and she put the platter down. Not waiting for his reaction or even a sign of gratitude, she poured him a cup.
“I mean, your sister’s worth nothing” Dale mumbled disgusted, apparently completely unaware of the fact that Beth was standing right beside him and if he did, he...