Hearing his girlfriend start to mumble something in her sleep, Alex glanced over to the figure lying beside him in the bed. The boy had been up for a while, just lying in bed and staring at the white ceiling above him in the dark bedroom. He, Rocky, and Diddy have been living in California together for almost three months now. They had found a small two-bedroom apartment that was affordable, and Diddy was going to a nearby school regularly with some friends she had made in her time of being in California. Turning on his side, Alex watched Rocky as she kept mumbling incoherently to herself. With this kind of thing being routine by now, the Miller boy already knew that his girlfriend was having another nightmare about that night.
When her mumbling began to get a little louder, and when she began tossing and turning, the teen sat up a little and gently placed his hand against Rocky's shoulder before he began trying to wake her up from the nightmare she was having. When Alex saw his girlfriend begin to stir, he gently spoke her name, causing the girl to suddenly sit up in the bed and glance around the dark room until her fearful eyes landed on him. As soon as she saw the boy beside her, the blonde haired girl instantly felt relieved as she pulled her boyfriend into a tight embrace. In response, Alex wrapped his arms around her as he slowly rubbed her back in a comforting gesture.
After some time, the boy had calmed his friend down, and she had told him what her nightmare had been about. As suspected, the nightmare had taken place during the time the the two friends had robbed The Blind Man's house along with their deceased friend, Money. But in her nightmare, Alex didn't make it out alive. Instead of escaping the house unscathed, the Miller teen had been shot and killed right in front of her just seconds before they were able to escape The Blind Man's house together. Knowing that Rocky's nightmare was based off of events that could have easily happened, the boy knew how realistic and scary the bad dreams could be. As the couple found comfort in each other's presence, they both lied back down with their arms wrapped around one another. Being in Alex's arms was a reassurance to Rocky that he was simply there with her, alive and well.
Waking up a few hours later, the boy soon realized that his girlfriend had left to drop her younger sister off at school for the day. Getting out of bed, Alex got changed into a pair of jeans, and a t-shirt with a hoodie to complete the look. Once he was dressed, the Miller boy made his way to the kitchen area to fix himself some breakfast. After getting himself a simple bowl of cereal, Alex sat down at the circular kitchen table and slowly ate his food alone in the quiet apartment. At one point, the right sleeve of the boy's hoodie slipped up ever so slightly, but it was enough to put him in a daze when he caught sight of the many scars that covered his wrist. All of a sudden, it was like the teen found himself in a frozen state as he couldn't help but remember all the memories that the many straight-lined scars encased.
Suddenly hearing a door open and close after a few minutes, Alex was quick to come out of his daze and pull his sleeve back down to cover his scarred wrist as he heard footsteps near him. "Hey, Alex." A soft voice greeted as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his shoulders from behind. "Hey, Rocky." The boy replied, glancing at the girl and giving her a small smile before she let go of him and sat down in the chair beside him. "I'm sorry about last night." The blonde haired girl spoke quietly, her gaze locked on the table. Forgetting about his breakfast, Alex moved his attention to the girl. "It's ok. You don't need to apologize for anything. I get nightmares too, sometimes." He said reassuringly as the Miller teen gently placed his left hand over Rocky's. And he was telling the truth. He did get nightmares as well, but not all of them were about that same day. Some of Alex's nightmares were of the times his father had abused him or blamed him for his mother leaving them years ago.
"Alex?" Rocky asked after a few minutes, gaining the boy's attention again as he turned to look at her. But as soon as he did, he noticed that the girl wasn't looking at him, but rather, she was looking down at his hand. "What are those?" She asked as she kept her gaze on his hand, or, more specifically, his wrist. The teen followed the girl's gaze to see that his sleeve had come up just enough to reveal just a couple of his many scars. "It's nothing." Alex said, quickly pulling his arm back and pulling his sleeve back down as well. "Is that why you wear jackets and long sleeved shirts all the time?" She asked, slowly putting pieces together. Becoming ashamed of his past actions, the boy became silent as he moved his gaze to his lap. "Why didn't you tell me, Alex?" Rocky asked quietly, concern coating her voice. "Because I knew you were dealing with your own stuff, and I didn't want you to worry about me. Besides, I haven't done it in a while." He said with a small sigh as he still kept his gaze down. "Why did you do it?" The worried girl asked carefully. "It doesn't matter anymore." The boy said. "Of course it does, Alex. I care about you, and I want to be able to help you and be there for you any way I can. Do you trust me?" Rocky asked, causing her friend to slowly look back up at her.
"It's not just one thing." The teenager began after a few seconds of silence. Hearing him speak, the blonde girl stayed silent, giving him her undivided attention as she now held his hand in hers. "Part of it was because of what my dad did to me. Later on, I still cut myself, because it was a distraction from the fact he never cared about me. And I guess it was also because of my dad blaming me for my mom leaving. Because of that, I mainly did it out of hatred towards myself." Alex explained, looking anywhere but at his friend as she kept her gaze on him. "I still sometimes think that maybe my dad was right, though. Maybe I am the reason my mom left me when she did." The boy continued, his tone laced with sadness. Not really knowing how to respond to her friend, Rocky simply moved closer to him and wrapped him in a comforting embrace that they both knew he needed. As soon as he felt her arms around him, Alex leaned into the hug as he gently rested his head on the girl's shoulder while she gently rubbed his back in a soothing gesture. After the teens pulled away from each other, the Miller boy felt a little bit better. Without saying a word, the teenager slowly removed his hoodie, revealing his scarred wrists to his girlfriend. Being gentle with her actions, Rocky slowly placed her hand over one of his wrists as she looked at the many scars he had from over the years. Glancing up at her boyfriend, she saw his gaze locked on his scars as well. Using her free hand, the girl gently grasped the boy's chin and directed his gaze to meet her own. Once their eyes were locked with each other, the gap between them began to get smaller and smaller, up until there was no space between them at all now. As the two teens came together in a gentle, loving kiss, Alex felt a hand come to rest on the back of his neck as he melted into the kiss. After breaking the kiss a few seconds later, the two softly smiled at one another. "I love you, Alex. You know that, right?" The girl said breathlessly, never breaking eye contact with her boyfriend. In response, the Miller boy's smile grew. "I do. And I love you, too." He replied before the two came together in another kiss filled with the love and care they both shared for each other.
Later on in the day, Diddy had been picked up from school, and she was just about done with her homework for the day. The group of three had decided to go out and grab a bite to eat once the young girl completed her homework since it was already almost six o'clock in the evening. As soon as Rocky's younger sister got done with the rest of her homework, the trio soon left the apartment together to grab something to eat for dinner.
Entering a diner that was within walking disrance from their appartment, the small group of three easily found a vacant booth. After a few minutes, a waitress came by, introduced herself, and gave the three new customers some menus to look over. After writing down their drink orders, the worker headed off towards the kitchen area to retrieve the desired beverages. After some time, the trio was enjoying their food when Alex couldn't help but notice another worker as she kept stealing glances at him every so often.
After the trio had finished their food, and before they were getting ready to leave to head back to their appartment, the waitress who had been watching Alex from afar walked up to them. "Alex?" She questioned, surprising the group with the fact that she knew the boy's name. "How do you know my name?" The Miller boy questioned, giving the older worker a confused and skeptical look. The woman sighed to herself, almost appearing to calm herself down a little. "I didn't think you'd remember me after all these years." She said quietly, causing the gears in the boys mind to turn. "Remember you?" He asked curiously. "Wait, Mom?!" Alex questioned after a few seconds. In response, the older woman gave her son a small, flat smile. "But, how?" He asked, still sounding a but confused as to how his mother was standing in front of him right now. After asking if she could join them, the older women slowly took a seat in their booth. She then began to explain how she had come to live here in California after she left that day so many years ago. Feeling a bit overwhelmed from seeing his mother for the first time in so long, Alex wasn't quite sure what to do, what to say, or even how to react to everything.
"Why did you leave me and Dad?" The Miller boy asked after a while, finally figuring out what he really wanted and needed to know. "I had to. He was abusive, and it kept getting worse. I just couldn't take being with him anymore. I was desperate to get out of there the first chance I got. But I do regret leaving the way I did. Leaving you with him was the biggest mistake I ever made in my life, and I wish I could go back to that day and take you with me." His mother, Cathy, said regretfully. After her words, a small silence fell over the group as the teenager took in what the woman had just said. "It wasn't a mistake." He said after some time. "What?" Cathy asked, sounding surprised at her son's response. The boy briefly glanced to his girlfriend, and their eyes locked for a brief second before he turned back to look at his mother. "Leaving me with Dad wasn't a mistake." Alex said simply. "How was it not a mistake?" The older woman asked, still not understanding how her son wasn't angry with her for leaving him behind with an abusive and alcoholic father. "I mean, sure, my life was rough after you left. Dad was more abusive towards me than he had been before, and he turned to drinking a lot more. But if you had taken me with you when you left, I never would've met my girlfriend." Alex said, giving Rocky a glance and small smile as he lightly held her hand in his grasp. Seeing her son appear to be happy with the girl sitting beside him, Cathy smiled proudly at her son. "Well, you've heard my story. Now it's your turn. How did you three end up here in California together?" The woman asked, genuinly curious to know why her son is in California. Laughing nervously, Alex gave an unsure smile. "That might be a long story." He said, sounding like he didn't want to tell it. Glancing at her watch, the woman noticed it was quitting time as her shift was about to end. "I've got time." She said with a small shrug of her shoulders. Sharing a glance with Rocky, the Miller boy soon sighed in defeat and began telling his mother about how he had agreed to rob a man's house and steal a boatload of money in order to help his friend and her younger sister get out of their not-so-great home life and escape to California. The boy had decided to be completely honest with his mother during his story as he didn't leave any of the details out of his tale.
By the end of his story, Alex had expected his mother to be angry about what he had done, but, surprisingly, she didn't look angry at all. Rather than being mad, Cathy looked proud of her son after learning what he had done to help his friends escape their abusive mother and her boyfriend in order to start a new, happier life in a safer, better environment. Seeing his mother stand from her seat, the boy followed suit as he stood as well. "I'm proud of you, Alex." She said, her voice laced with a motherly tone that the Miller teen hadn't heard in forever. "You are?" The boy asked. "I am. I'm sorry I wasn't there to see you grow up. But maybe we can start over." The older woman said, sounding a bit hopeful. Feeling some tears come to his eyes, Alex gave his mother a soft, genuine smile. "Yeah. I'd like that, Mom." He said with a small nod of his head. As a response, Cathy came forward, wrapping her arms around her son in a tight hold. Almost instantly, Alex responded to the gesture as he reciprocated his mother's hug.
Still sitting in the booth together, Rocky and Diddy shared a glance before turning their attention back to the reunited pair as they held each other tightly. As she watcher her boyfriend reconnect with his mother after so many years of being with an abusive and alcoholic father, the blonde haired girl couldn't help but smile to herself as she saw how happy Alex looked after seeing his mother again. After the diner closed for the night, the group of four left and spent some time together as Alex properly introduced Rocky and Diddy to the older woman. The Miller boy couldn't help but feel content with his life now that his mother was back in the picture, and he felt relieved to see how well his girlfriend, her little sister, and his mother were getting along as the three shared a conversation and got to know each other better. All-in-all, looking back on things, Alex Miller was really glad that he ended up sticking around and helping his friend get the money she needed to escape with Diddy to California, and he was extremely grateful that Rocky had stuck by his side and never gave up on him when he could've easily died in The Blind Man's house on that terrible and unforgettable day.