I woke with a start, sitting up wide eyed with sweat matting my hair to my face and my t-shirt clinging to my body like a second skin. My whole body shook as I sat there trying to get my bearings, hoping that I wasn't in that alleyway, praying that I wasn't there at all and that it was all just one big mistake.

When my eyes finally adjusted to the dark, I came to realise that I wasn't in that alleyway behind some unknown shop but, rather, safe at home. Safe in bed, safe but scarred by that night not so many years back.

But even though I knew, I was safe; my breathing remained heavy, as if I had just run a mile without stopping. My heart raced as if it had just been jump started by an electrical shock as my mind raced with panic and fear.

"A dream," I whispered into the darkness.

"Just a dream," I repeated, trying to reassure myself that none of those things had happened, that nothing had occurred and that it was all just a bad dream. Though I knew all too well that it wasn't just a dream, but a memory, because those things had happened, they had occurred, on a night when I had been nothing but a weak, defenseless whimpering little girl.

"A dream," I whispered, as images of that night flashed through my mind again. Reliving those weak, defenseless, whimpering moments of that night where I was helpless to save myself, where someone else had to come and save me. And because of those thoughts, my breathing and heart rate wasn't slowing down.

"Only a dream, Leah," I repeated, as I leaned back against my pillows, the action making my body ache a little from the physical wounds that I had accumulated during the night.

I knew the reason for my aching body, which really didn't bother me as much as the dream did.

You see, with time the physical heals while the mental things won't. They stay with you forever, always a reminder.

"Only a dream," I said into the darkness as I closed my eyes, but snapped them open once more as those moments flashed through my mind again.

Shaking my head, I sat up again, knowing that I wasn't going to get a wink of sleep after having that nightmare. My mind continuously wondering back to that night, making me relive it, the night that changed everything.

Sighing heavily, I turned to look at my alarm clock to see that it was almost three in the morning. Having gotten home around past twelve the night, "Not a lick of sleep," I grumbled to myself.

I sat there and stared into space while my mind still ran a mile a minute, with that night replaying like a broken record. I knew that it wasn't going to stop, because it never really did once it started.

I sat there for a few more minutes, allowing myself to wallow in that dreaded night, allowing myself to relive it, before I grabbed my phone off the pedestal and leaned over the edge of my bed.

My hair fell to the floor as I hung upside down and started searching under my bed, while using the flashlight on my phone. Locating exactly what I was looking for, I pulled it out from under the bed, before I sat up with a satisfied smile.

I glanced down at the treasure I held in my hands, my smile never waning. In my hands was a bottle of vodka, one of many bottles of alcohol I had hidden under my bed. I stared down at the bottle for a minute before pulling off the cap; staring down the neck of the bottle for a second, I lifted it into the air in a toast.

"To memories that should stay forgotten," I said, taking a swig.

I pulled a face, as the taste hit my tongue, and I couldn't help but grimace at the burning sensation that it brought as it went down.

After that however, I didn't care as I continued to down the liquor in mouthfuls; the familiar burn of the alcohol soothed me as it went down, and warmed the pit of my stomach.

I continued to drink; mouthful after mouthful and with each that I took, my mind became a little fuzzier. With each new taste of the liquor, my dreadful dream, my dreadful past, became a little less clear. With each swallow and burn, the memory of that night disappeared slowly.

I toasted to myself many times over, and spoke to myself as if someone were there to answer. All the while, I continued to drink, until finally I came to the end of the bottle. Staring at the empty glass bottle in my hand for a minute or two, a fuzzy sense of sadness crossed my mind as I pouted down at it.

"Y- You... M- My friend, were a goood f- friend," I slurred, hugging the bottle to my chest for a second.

I stared down at it for another minute, I smiled and tossed it aside. "But, I have more friends," I chuckled. Turning to lean over the edge of my bed again, in order to find another.

Instead of leaning over the bed as I had before, I toppled right off. Landing on the floor with a loud thud, I cringed. "Ssshhhh, don't wake anyone up," I said, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Pfft, I'm alone."

"Who am I even talking to?" I chuckled, shaking my head at my own idiocy, before reaching under my bed and pulling out another bottle.

This bottle was square and held a brown liquid, the cool glass bringing some relief to my overly warm body.

Hugging it close, I whispered, "Y- You're my n- new f- friend," before pulling off the cap and taking a few big gulps from it.

The liquid burnt even more as it went down my throat, causing me to scrunch up my face again. The taste wasn't lost on me though, as I lit up at the familiar scent and flavour.

"Oooh Whiskey," I slurred, chuckling to myself before frowning down at the bottle.

"I think it's whiskey," I said with a shrug, before taking another sip of it, not caring which type of alcohol it was.

By then I was too far gone to care, my dream from earlier already forgotten. My sorrow and thoughts of the past were reason enough to start a party and it was reason enough for me to carry on. So that's exactly what I did.

* * *      * * *

The sound of someone banging on my bedroom door woke me up, causing an involuntary groan to escape my lips.

"Leah, you're late," a muffled voice said, causing yet another groan to leave me in response. As I tried to crawl away from the noise that dared to intrude upon my precious sleep.

As silence once again surrounded me, I relaxed, as sleep pulled me back into its embrace but, that was short lived as another loud bang broke through it, followed by a voice.

"Leah, you're fucking late!" The noise made my head throb in pain, another groan leaving my lips in answer, which only caused me more pain.

Footsteps walking away from my door greeted my ears a second later and I relaxed again, thinking that the noise was finally over.

I was wrong though.

I was very wrong, because seconds later it all got worse.

I heard my door open, followed by a loud banging, which sent a shot of pain through my head, before another loud bang soon followed it.

"Mother fucking shit!" A surprised voice came from outside the room, before I heard my door open again, but this time without the banging.

I groaned loudly at the noise, as I tried to crawl away from it, to some hole where I could die.

"Holy shit!" A deep voice yelled in shock from somewhere in the room, their voice eliciting another moan from me.

"What the hell happened in here?!" He shouted, making my head pain even more at all the noise he kept making.

Knowing sleep wasn't an option anymore, and that this torture would only just continue, I slowly opened my eyes. Blinding light shone straight into them, eliciting another involuntary groan from me, before I turned away.

My body protested at the action as it screamed in pain while I twisted on... on the hard floor.

What the fuck am I doing on the floor?

From there I looked up to find my brother frowning down at me from just inside the doorway, his eyes focused on the bottle and me.

"Had a little party, did we?" His loud voice made me wince, as my head pounded.

"Keep it down, would you? Person in pain here," I grumbled.

"I'm talking in a normal voice!" He stated, his frown deepening ever so slightly, as he looked between the bottle and me.

"No, you're shouting," I said in a hoarse voice, my throat slightly scratchy.

Devon rolled his eyes in response, as he continued to watch me closely. His bronze eyes blazing with an emotion I didn't care to decipher.

"It happened again, didn't it?" He asked, a flash of sadness and anger crossing his face, before reverting back to the emotion that I didn't care for.

I knew what he was referring to, with both his question and the look he sent me. He was referring to the dream, to what happened not so many years ago, and since he knew, was there really any point in hiding it?

"Yeah," I sighed heavily.

Thoughts of that night once again resurfaced, but with a shake of my head I dispelled them and instead narrowed my gaze at Devon, before asking in irritation, "Again, would you tone it down?" Choosing to focus on that than allowing those thoughts to run wild.

The moment we shared disappeared the second those words left my lips. The sadness and concern gone from his eyes, only to be replaced by his usual indifference.

"Again, I'm talking in a normal voice, Leah," he stressed, rolling his eyes.

"Again, you're not."

"If I were to shout, it wouldn't sound like this," he stated, his voice dripping with warning.

"Oh sure," I grumbled.

Devon stared down at me for a second or two, his eyes glancing towards the bottle of whiskey near me before he shook his head.

"Just get ready for school," he sighed, turning on his heel and leaving.

I stared after Devon for a second or two before I finally moved. Soon finding out that not only was my head sore, but so was my body. As each twist and turn that I made, sent a shot of pain through me.

"Oh and Leah," Devon called, as I looked up to find him once again in my doorway.

"Yes?"

"You're late!" He shouted, before disappearing again.

A severe pain went through my head, forcing a groan to leave me as I stopped trying to stand, and flopped back down onto the floor. Hoping for death as I groaned in pain at the protest of my aching muscles.

"Asshole!" I shouted, regretting it instantly as another shot of pain went through my head. My brother's laughter carried down the hallway to me, while I lie there on the floor, in pain.

I laid there for a few minutes, as the ache in my head subsided to a bearable degree. Once I was sure I could stand the pain, I quickly stood up, and my guess is that I must have moved a bit too fast for my body's liking as the room began to spin.

Feeling the bile in my stomach slowly start to rise up my oesophagus, had me freezing in place with my eyes wide. Hungover or not, I was not going to vomit.

Hell fucking no.

Don't vomit, don't vomit, don't vomit, don't you dare vomit, Leah.

Frozen in place, I waited for my room to stop spinning and for the nausea to pass, as I didn't want to puke my guts out so early in the morning.

Also, Devon had said I was late, and I sure as hell didn't want to be any later, pfft, as if I cared.

I sighed in relief when the feeling finally passed, then glanced around my room before leaving it and heading towards the bathroom.

Just as I entered the bathroom and was about to close the door, I heard a shout. The sound making me cringe in pain.

"I'm Here Bitches!"

Stiffening at the voice, my eyes widened ever so slightly for the shout had come from the one and only, Grace Lancaster. My best friend, who was here... to pick me up for school... here now... and that's when reality hit me like a train, and I finally understood Devon's words and the urgency behind them.

Shit fuck shit, I'm dead. I'm late and I'm dead. Fuck shit fuck.

Grace is going to kill me.

"Sorry, Mrs Mercer," I heard Grace shout once my momentary panic subsided. My guess being that my mother reprimanded her for her language.

Shaking my head as I finally came back to the reality that I was late and dead, I closed the door to the bathroom to finally get done, as Grace wouldn't be stalled long, and I would rather like to enjoy my last shower.

Minutes later, I reluctantly stepped out of the shower, having felt like I could have stayed under the spray forever. I dried myself off quickly before wrapping the towel around me. Moving over to brush my teeth, I scrubbed them for a full two minutes before rinsing my mouth and moving on to brush my hair.

Brushing my hair felt like pulling teeth. Because my hangover was overwhelmingly powerful this morning, it caused my head to be overly sore, which caused me pain when I brushed it.

Ah, the joys of a helluva hangover.

Pushing through the pain, I carried on with my morning routine. I was at the point of choosing between leaving my hair loose or tying it up when I heard someone shout my name. And even though their voice was muffled by the door and distance between us, my head still throbbed slightly.

"Leah!"

Groaning, I continued to mess with my hair, before finally deciding on just a basic ponytail.

"Leah!" Grace called again, making my ears sing as my head throbbed.

"Leah!" She shouted again, her voice sounding shrill even through the door, causing me to wince.

"Leah Andrea Mercer! You better..." Grace stopped short when I flung the bathroom door open to find her standing with her hands on her hips and a frown on her pretty little face.

Her appearance hadn't changed much over the past few years, other than the fact that she had gotten curvier. She was still short, but now with added curves which was clearly appealing to the male population of our school. Other than that, she still looked the same, with long dark brown hair, hazel eyes, a tanned complexion, heart-shaped face and, of course, her manicured nails.

I mean, you weren't from the South Side if you didn't have your nails done.

"Morning to you too, Little Miss Sunshine," I greeted, an impassive look on my face. Pulling my towel up a bit, I walked out of the bathroom and in the direction of my room.

"You're late, Missy," Grace called, following behind me.

"No shit Sherlock," I answered, rolling my eyes. Grace followed me into my room, before stopping dead in her tracks when she noticed the state it was in.

"What the hell happened in here?!" She shouted, making me wince at the sound as I turned to glare at her.

"Would you keep it down?" I hissed, my anger causing her to look at me.

"No," she answered, crossing her arms stubbornly as she held my stare, curiosity shining in her eyes as she scrutinized my face.

Grace continued to stare at me for a minute before she turned and looked around the mess, which was my room.

"What happened in here, Leah?"

I shrugged, as I pulled out my underwear from the dresser and pulled them on. "I had a little party, no big deal."

Grace spun around to look at me with a raised brow, "With who?" She asked, disbelief colouring her tone.

"With myself, of course," I answered and shrugged.

Heading over to my closet, I glanced over at my alarm clock and my eyes bulged at the sight that flashed back at me. What the fuck, we were shit late.

I mean usually I'm late, but this is just wrong, as in three-day detention kind of late that's going on here.

With that I rushed over to my closet and started the hard task of trying to extract one of my many black skinny jeans from it, when I heard Grace ask,

"What's this?"

Turning around with a frown, I found her standing there with the half empty bottle of whiskey in her hand, her eyes hard with anger shining in them.

"Whiskey," I answered nonchalantly, before turning back to my closet, not really understanding why she asked me the question when she could see exactly what it was.

"And what the hell is it doing here?" Grace demanded a second later, anger evident in her voice.

"Looking pretty," I answered sarcastically, as I turned to glance at her while rolling my eyes. "It's what I had the party with Grace," I said after a second, not daring to turn back around as I continued my quest to free my pants.

"Seriously?" Grace asked, her voice rising an octave or two.

"Yes, seriously."

"So, you drank this alone. All by yourself?" She continued.

"Did I not just say that?" I asked back in exasperation, as I finally pulled my jeans free from the clutches of my closet and quickly pulled them on.

"Well it's not every day you find out your best friend drinks like a fish, and has an alcohol problem!" Grace snapped back.

"Don't go down this road Grace." I warned.

"And why not?!" She shouted.

"Don't go down this road."

"Again, why not. I'm worried about you. Plus, you're late as usual, even when I told you last night that I was picking you up. I mean the least you could have done was..." but whatever Grace was about to rant on about, I didn't completely hear as I tuned her out while continuing to rush, to get ready to leave for school.

Knowing that if she dared to glance over at my alarm clock that she would freak out and then I would certainly be dead.

So with jeans on, I found a long-sleeved white t-shirt and pulled it on, before pulling on my black and white converse. Glancing around my room, I searched for my leather jacket, finding it where I had last left it; I picked it up and pulled it on before moving over to grab my messenger bag off the floor, near my desk.

With everything in hand, I turned around to look at Grace with a satisfied smile on my face at the fact that I had gotten ready in record time.

"Okay, let's go," I said.

Grace blinked a couple of times, before glaring back at me. "Were you even listening to me?" She asked angrily.

"Well..." I said sheepishly, "I know you want me to say yes," I carried on with a small smile, "But no, not really." I shrugged, finally giving up on playing innocent as I started looking around my room for my phone.

Grace huffed out in frustration, shaking her head, "Typical," she grumbled, throwing her hands up.

"Yes, very typical..." I said, my words dying on my lips as I found my phone. It was lying on my bed, which wasn't much of a problem, as the real problem was lying next to it. An empty bottle of vodka.

I must have had one helluva good party last night, but that too explains the helluva hangover.

Grabbing my phone from my bed, I swiftly covered the vodka bottle before Grace could catch a glimpse of it, because if she was already making a big deal out of half a bottle of whiskey. Then I sure as hell knew she would fly off the handle if she saw that empty bottle too.

"Can we go now?" I asked as I turned to face my best friend, who was watching me carefully, anger shining bright in her hazel eyes.

"Fine, we're already late as is," Grace grumbled, before turning and leaving my room. Glancing around once more, I followed.

Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I winced in pain as my sides protested, causing me to stop at the top of the stairs. Grace had already descended half of the staircase, and turned to look up at me when she didn't hear me coming.

"What the hell are you doing now?!" She called angrily.

Not daring to say a word to her, I turned and headed back towards my room.

"Where the hell are you going?" She called, her voice once again hitting that shrilly octave, which in turn made me cringe and wince in pain.

Walking back to my room, I grabbed my sunglasses before making a quick pit stop in the bathroom to take two aspirin, in hopes that it would lessen my pain. With that done, I headed downstairs, to find that Grace was gone.

As I stood there with a frown as to where my friend had disappeared to, a sweet laugh came from the kitchen, followed by silent chatter. With a frown, I headed through the doorway to find my best friend and brother chatting happily in the kitchen without a care.

Devon stood on one side of the counter while Grace sat on one of the stools, chatting away pleasantly. Devon stood tall, at a height of six feet, with a toned muscular body wearing only boxers, while Grace shamelessly drooled over him as he moved around the kitchen.

"She can't be that bad," Grace giggled a little.

"You don't know her like I do," Devon said with a glance over his shoulder at her. Neither of them seeming to notice my presence at the door.

"I think I know her better than you," she said with a serious look.

"Oh I highly doubt it," Devon answered with a grin.

"Ahem, am I interrupting?" I asked, looking between the two.

"No," Devon said with a shrug, as he turned towards the pan behind him.

"Good, let's go," I said to Grace as I pointed with my thumb behind me.

"Yeah, lets," she said in a hard tone.

Shrugging off her pissy mood, I watched as Grace greeted Devon in a sweet voice, before walking ahead of me. With one final glance at my brother with a raised brow, I followed her, calling out a greeting to him as I closed the door behind me.

* * *    * * *

And that was the new and definitely improved Chapter 1... With a little change here and there I am finally happy with it and I hope you are too.

So please let me know what you think in the comments and I hope you enjoyed it.