CHARISMA - the sweet unknown {PLL}

Off The Record

Sunday mornings were Alisha's favorite to go for a run. Most people were in church and she'd have the woods all to herself. Also it wasn't as hot in the morning as it was getting during the day by now. It was only the beginning of June, yet it felt like summer was here already.

Alisha put on her running gear and left a note on the kitchen counter. It only took her about 5 minutes to get to the little running track leading through the woods right behind Spencer's house. The good thing about the woods was, they're not those dark and mystic woods - they were bright green and sun came through the trees a lot. It was a friendly morning and Alisha started increasing the speed of her steps until she found the rhythm just right for her. The route she usually took lasted about 30 minutes. She'd walked here so many times it wasn't necessary for her to concentrate on the path, she was actually able to let her thoughts wander off and clear her head for the first time in what feels like weeks. Her feet started to burn a little and she fastened her steps even more. Pushing to her limits was something Alisha was definitely used to.

Just as she ran around a corner and turned into a more open part of the path she saw something running towards her in the corner of her eye. It was a German Shepard jumping in big heaps into her direction. Immediately Alisha stopped running and froze. The dog was as big as a sheep and at least twice the weight of one. Alertedly, Alisha raised a hand and pointed a finger to the dog, "Stop" she shouted and the dog stood still right in front of her, leaving skid marks behind him. "Sit." It did as instructed and just glared at Alisha. Carefully she held out her hand to let the dog sniff her scent. "Who are you, wild buddy?" She slowly caressed it behind it's ears and kneeled down in front of him.

"Rufus!?" There was someone fighting their way through the thicket nearby. Probably the owner, Alisha thought.

"Rufus!" They shouted again and Alisha recognized the voice she heard. And just a second later Wilden appeared from between the trees, looking stressed and a little desperate. "There you are!" He hadn't noticed Alisha yet, since she was kneeling in front of the gigantic dog.

Slowly she rose and smiled at him brightly, "Forgot to bring a leash?"

"Alisha", his face showed astonishment, "I didn't expect to meet you here."

She was slightly confused by his statement, "I go running here every once in a while. You must be new to the dog-walking-society though."

"It's my sisters", he said out of breath and tied a leash around Rufus' neck, "he just doesn't listen."

"Tz", Alisha made and ironically shook her head.

"Why are you such a dog whisperer?" He then asked and tilted his head. His hair was messy due to his excursion through the wilderness and the shirt he was wearing wasn't quite in place. Alisha liked seeing him like this, like a normal human who could be her neighbor. Just anyone basically.

"We used to have a golden retriever when I was a child. She died like 3 years ago", Alisha shrugged. Seeing Wilden reminded her of the conversation with her dad. "Any news about my dads case?"

Wilden scratched the back of his neck while Rufus was lying down on the ground between them. "Nothing useful."

"Still no footage from the security camera?" She asked straight forward.

After giving her a quick questioning look, Wilden nodded, "You talked to your dad."

Since it was a statement Alisha didn't answer. She considered telling him about Oldwright but then decided it was too dangerous in case her dad could get in trouble for it. She still hasn't received a list or even an answer from Wright and slowly she began to doubt it was going to be helpful anyway. Also she had promised herself to never try and bribe Wilden to help her out in any kind of way again. She was going to find a way to help herself.