Emily's p.o.v

I stared up at the scene in front of me in shock. It felt like I could do nothing but watch it happen. Like I couldn't control anything that happened. It felt like I can't control anything that is going to happen. And I was right. Standing right in front of me was my twin brother Alex, who had just poured his orange juice on my head. Right after his toy for the week took my spaghetti Bolognese and dumped it on me, ruining my favourite shirt. And the saddest thing of all is that it's not the first time this has happened.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of my brothers' harsh voice, cutting through the silence like a hot knife cuts through butter.

"I can't believe you're my sister, you're an ugly fat nerd who no one wants, why don't you just leave, and never come back? " Tears pricked at my eyes threatening to fall. No matter how many times this happens, it still stings like the first.

"I mean, no one would miss you anyway. Mum and dad wouldn't even notice your gone." He was right, Alex was always the favourite child. Mum and dad never cared about me. If I disappear, they either wouldn't notice or would be happy about it.

By now the whole cafeteria had eyes on us. Waiting eagerly for some new material to gossip about. My brother turned to face the cafeteria and yelled as loud as he could... "Who says Emily is not welcome here and should leave for good." My brother yelled. As expected, the whole cafeteria erupted into cheers.

My brother turned back to with a sly smirk on his face, and his next words had me running out the school with tears streaming down my face. "No one wants you, so why are you still here?"

I ran all the way to my house. Not like I had another choice. My parents have never shown me love, even though I always bring home good grades. My mum only cares about social status and what other people think about us and so Alex, being popular, is his obvious favourite. Which is why on our 16th birthday, he got a car and I didn't. My dad isn't as bad as my mum, but he doesn't exactly treat me like a daughter either. He juts ignores me to please my mum. That is all he cares about, pleasing my mum and because Alex was my mum's favourite, he became my dad's favourite as well.

I entered the house, knowing no one was home. My parents were full time businessmen, which is why we were so rich. The only catch is that they were almost never home and spent a lot of time going on business trips. Right now, they were in Ohio.

I took a quick shower, collected my passport and some cash and grabbed a pen and paper to write a note. I wasn't going to waste my time writing a long sappy note explaining why I left. I mean, come on, it's pretty obvious. Besides, they won't even care that I am gone but just to make sure they don't bring the police into this and make a big scene for the attention and sympathy, I have decided to just write a short note so they know that I ran away and wasn't kidnapped.

Dear Alex, I know you will find this first because our parents don't get back from Ohio for another 3 weeks. You don't need to call the cops, I haven't been kidnapped, I have just done what everyone told me to do. I left. I guess you got what you wanted, but that shouldn't be new to you considering you always get what you want. Always. With much hate, Emily.

I folded the note up and placed it on the corner of my neatly made bed before leaving, heading down the street and away from the cold house that I haven't called home in years.

I stopped walking when I came up to a familiar park, a fresh batch of tears rolled down my cheeks. This is the park me and my brother used to go to when we were younger, before high school when we were still each other's best friend. I know that I can no longer stay here, that I can't go back. I had to leave the country, so I called my aunt Lisa to see if I could stay with her. She knew about my situation and said that if I ever needed a place to stay, I was always welcome to live with her in Italy. This will be good for me. Besides, even though I have only been there a few times, I have always loved Italy more than New York.

"Hi Aunt Lisa" I greet her after taking in a shaky breath to clear my voice.

"Sweetie, what's wrong" Even though I kept my voice as steady as possible, so I don't worry her, she could still hear that something was wrong. That was one of many reasons why I loved my aunt, she pays attention to the details.

"Do you mind if I stay with you for a while, I ca..n't stay he...re anym..ore " Even though I tried to hold it back, a few sobs managed to escape my lips near the end of my sentence.

"Of course, I'm booking you a flight to Italy now, I'll send you the tickets and be here waiting for you when you arrive, " she said, happy that I am finally taking up her offer.

"Thank you, auntie" I said, grateful that I at least have one person who cares about me in my life.

"I'll see you in a couple hours. I love you, bye." She said before hanging up and leaving me with the raging war inside my mind.

A few minutes Later, my phone dinged and when I looked at the screen, I see the flight ticket with the details attached. I caught a cab to the airport and went straight to the boarding section considering I didn't bring any luggage with me. And a few minutes after I boarded the plane, it took flight. And as I looked out the window, I smiled slightly, knowing that I was leaving my old, miserable life behind.

And I don't intend on coming back any time soon.

My name is Emily Spades, and this is the beginning of my new life. One that I have control over.

Emily's p.o.v

It's been two months since I arrived in Italy and started living with my aunt. Ever since I arrived, she has treated me like the daughter she never had. She took me to the mall a day after we arrived to help me design a new look for myself. We bought new clothes and then after, we went to the salon to get our hair and nails done.

I have changed SO much in such a short time. And not just my style, my attitude as well as my body. A week after arriving in Italy, I joined a local gym to lose weight and gain muscle. I even signed up for a ju-jitsu class so that I could learn some self-defence. And I have to say, all the hard work payed off, I've only been going to the gym for a month and a half now and my body is toned.

But to be honest, I spent most of the day working out so it didn't just magically happen. Besides, I had nothing else to do while waiting for the school holidays to finish. That's right, my aunt enrolled me at the local high school. School starts tomorrow so right now I am packing my bag and making sure that I have everything I need for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to make some good friends when I start, although with my new found confidence and style, I am sure I'll find some good friends.

I am no longer the bullied, fat nerd who had no style, confidence or friends. I am A tall, strong and confident badass with killer style. And people should think twice before messing with me.

"EMILY" My aunt called from downstairs. "CAN YOU COME HERE PLEASE" Shoving the rest of my books in my school bag, I make my way downstairs to my Aunt who is currently in the kitchen.

"Yes aunty, what did you need?" upon hearing my question she spins around to face me as she puts her jacket on. "Sto per correre velocemente al supermercato" (I'm just going to run to the supermarket quickly) She says, looking around for her car keys. "No, andrò per te, cosa ti serviva dal supermercato?" (No, I'll go for you, what did you need from the supermarket?) I reply fluently in Italian, thankful that I had decided to use my spare time when I was younger to learn the beautiful language. She didn't stop her search as she said "No, vado. Potresti sapere come guidare ma non avrai la patente per un altro mese" (No, I'll go. You may know how to drive but you don't get your license for another month.) I walk towards her and stop her search, holding her shoulders so that she will look at me.

"Lasciami andare nei negozi, potrei comunque usare l'aria fresca. Inoltre, dista solo 10 minuetti." (Let me just go to the shops, I could use the fresh air anyway. Besides, it's only 10 minutes away.) When I finish my sentence, she just hugs me and says, "fai attenzione, sono le 22:00 e non sai quali pericoli ci sono. Abbiamo solo bisogno di un po 'di latte e assicurati di indossare qualcosa di caldo. Non vorrai ammalarti il giorno prima dell'inizio della scuola." (Be careful, it's 10:00pm and you don't know what dangers are out there. We just need some milk and make sure you wear something warm. You wouldn't want to get sick the day before school starts.) I just nod before grabbing some money and my coat and then leaving.

10 minutes later, I arrive at the supermarket. I get the milk and some cookie dough ice cream for later, before paying and leaving. After walking for two minutes, I was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled into a nearby ally. Dropping my bag of milk and ice cream I start wriggling around and screaming into the hand that is covering my mouth. I kicked him in the balls and jumped out of his arms when he loosened his hold on me. "Shit, you bitch" He hisses before lunging at me. I do my best to keep up, using some moves I learnt in ju-jitsu, but he was too fast and to skilled and eventually, he had me on the ground with a gun pointed at me.

I closed my eyes, tears streaming down my face knowing I was about to die. But the bullet never came. When I heard a groan of pain and a thud, I slowly opened my eyes, not sure what to expect. A young boy who looked no older than me was stood in front of me with his hand held out. I looked behind him at my knocked-out attacker and then back at the strange boy who still held his hand out.

"You saved me" I rasped out, taking his hand and allowing him to pull me up. "Well, I couldn't just let him kill you" He replied with a goofy smile on his face. "That would be very ungentlemanly of me" He continued. "Thank you" I said, as he picked up my long-forgotten groceries. "How could I ever repay you?" I asked. I know it was a stupid question, but he did just save my life. "You could let me walk you home" he said, the goofy grin still plastered on his face. I simply nodded and allowed him to walk me home.

On the way there, I asked him how he was able to knock out my attacker since he not only had a gun but could also fight incredibly well. Believe me, I have first-hand experience. He had told me that he was in a gang called the 'King-Cobras' And then asked me if I wanted to join.

At first, I was hesitant but when he told me that I would be trained how to properly fight and how to use weapons, my protests slowly dissolved and I agreed, wanting to be able to protect myself if there was ever a repeat of tonight. When we finally arrived at my home, we exchanged numbers and said goodbye before Eric left, disappearing into the dark cover of the night.

I walked into the house only to be tackled by my aunt who started to ask a million questions a minuet about the few scratches I had obtained during the fight and about Eric, who she had apparently seen with me at the front door through the living room window.

I sat her down on the couch after putting the milk away and getting two spoons for the ice cream before retelling the events that occurred in the past 45 minutes. When I answered all the questions I could and convinced my aunt that joining the gang would be a good thing, I went to my room and showered before collapsing in my bad and letting sleep over take me.

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Alex's p.o.v

***The day Emily left New York***

The bell to signal the end of class finally ended and after talking to some of my friends, I got into my car and started driving home. Earlier, when Emily ran out of the cafeteria, she was so caught up in her tears that she forgot to take her bag with her. After searching through it and taking her homework, I decided that I would bring it home with me and give it to her, as I kind of felt bad for making her cry again. But only a bit, besides, it's her own fault she gets picked on anyway. She just makes it so easy.

I pulled into the drive way and parked the car before entering the silent house. I left Emily's bag in front of the door, on the floor before going to my room. 3 hours later, I pause my video game and head down to the kitchen. It's just after 7:00pm and Emily is normally cooking diner around this time, but when I round the corner, Emily is nowhere to be seen. Slightly annoyed, I walk up to her room to end the pity party she is most likely having and get her lazy *** downstairs to make dinner.

I slam her door open to scare her, expecting her to be curled up on her bed, balling her eyes out. But instead, the room was empty and the only thing on her still made bed was a neatly folded up note.

I sat down on the bed and unfolded the note. As I was reading the note, tears started welling up in my eyes and it feels like I had just been slapped in the face and given a rude awakening to the dream I thought I was living up until now.

Dear Alex, I know you will find this first because our parents don't get back from Ohio for another 3 weeks. You don't need to call the cops, I haven't been kidnapped, I have just done what everyone told me to do. I left. I guess you got what you wanted, but that shouldn't be new to you considering you always get what you want. Always.

With much hate, Emily

It's my fault she is gone. I have been the worst brother ever and because of it, I've lost my sister. What have I done?

***Present time (3 months later)***

It's been three months since Emily ran away. After I read the note, I immediately called the police and told them what happened but instead of sending out a search party like I thought they would, they said that we should wait a week before sending out a search party. And when I asked them why the hell they were going to wait a week instead of just sending out a search party now, they said it was because most teenage run-aways returned within a week after realising that they either had nowhere to go, or, their reason for running away was stupid. I know that Emily had a valid reason for running away and that she is smart enough to find someplace to go even though she didn't have access to the family credit card like I did.

After a week when she still didn't come home, the police started their search and have found no leads. The only thing they had was the location she was last seen. And when I found out where, I almost broke down crying right then and there. The park we used to go to when we were little. But I held it in until I was all alone in my room, where I normally release my bottled-up emotions.

The sound of the door bell ringing snapped me out of my thoughts and I dragged me moping *** off the couch to answer the door. Opening the door, I come face to face with two police officers with grim, sympathetic expressions on their faces. Knowing that they don't have any good news based on their expressions, I prepare myself for what they were about to tell me.

"Mr Spades?" One of the officers questioned. "That's me" I replied with a small nod. "Do you have any news about my sister?" I asked, still slightly hopeful despite the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. "Were sorry sir, but, no new leads regarding your sisters' location have been found. Unfortunately, because of this reason, we are concluding our search for your sister. We hope that she will come back to you some day but there is nothing else we can do. We are truly sorry" Their words brought tears to my eyes. How could they give up on Emily? It is their job to help people and yet, they have failed. Not able to hold back the tears anymore, I slam the door shut and break down into tears, praying for Emily to come back. To at least know where she is.

Even though the police have stopped looking, it doesn't mean I have. And I never will. Not until she is found and in my arms.