What the hell just happened? 

"Kate!" Roman calls my name from across the house and I groan, rubbing my eyes slightly and pulling myself up, pulling another cigarette from my pack and placing it, unlit, in my mouth. 

No time. There's no time for silly boys and mixed emotions. 

Not until I find my mom. 

"Yeah?" I call back, my voice croaking slightly and muffled from the cigarette.

"Um, you might want to come here." 

I sigh, shuffling towards the sound of his voice. 

"Where are you?" I call out, not familiar with the house's layout. 

"Office, by the front door." I hear, and head towards a pair of white sliding doors, spreading them apart carefully. 

Roman sits in front of a large computer screen, the fluorescent glow lighting up his face with an eerie sheen. 

The office is small, yet perfectly designed, with window seats on both sides, and ceiling high book shelves stacked with books in every shape and size. I walk past one, seeing the thin layer of dust covering every volume. 

"Jesus, Kate, come here." Roman groans impatiently, and I oblige, moving behind him to peer over his shoulder. 

On the screen, is a picture of my father, his face gruff and mean, almost gaudily so. Small print partners the image, running along either side like a code. 

"What is this?" I whisper, leaning forward to see the screen. 

"Dios, Kate, I can't see the screen with you peering over it like that. Here." He says, and before I can react, he's hoisting me onto his lap like a rag doll.

"Whoa, buddy." I begin to protest. 

"Relax, mujer. It's just so that you can see the screen without blocking my view. Also, paralyzed remember, can't feel a thing." He says, pointing at his legs with a smirk. 

I freeze, never knowing how to react whenever Roman brings up his affliction. 

"No time for boo-hoos, Kate. Look." He says, pointing again at the screen. 

I turn my attention to the computer, scanning the document in front of me for any new information. 

"What am I looking for?" I ask, my brain beginning to boil. 

"Carajo, do I need to do everything in this house?" He sighs, exhausted, and pushes forward so he can grip the mouse, dragging it across the screen and enlarging a section of text, pointing at it sharply. 

"First of all, english please." I snap, whipping my hair to the side. 

"Second of all, read the damn document or I'll throw you from this chair like an eject button." Roman squints his eyes at me, and I just roll my eyes turning back to the computer. 

"West Buchanan, father of Katya Emerson-Buchanan, has filed a missing person's report for his daughter, who was last seen wearing..." I read aloud, trailing off. 

"What?" I sit back, running a hand through my hair and my mind working. "Why the hell would he report me missing?" 

"So you can't go back to school or home. You can't go anywhere without someone recognizing you." Roman whispers. 

"He's trapping me wherever I am." I whisper. 

Like a pack of wolves circling their prey, trapping them in one spot before they pounce. 

"They can't find me, Roman." A shudder goes down my spine and I throw my head into my hands. 

A bout of tears swims up to my eyes, and I bite my lip fiercely, trying to hold them back. 

Don't cry. 

Don't cry. 

Don't cry. 

And I begin to sob. 

An ugly, choking, slippery bawl. 

Just everything. Everything. I feel like a boulder at the edge of a cliff that just gets heavier with each second, and teetering further. 

And I don't know how much longer I can hold onto the edge before I fall. 

"Don't cry, hermosa." Roman whispers, grabbing my shoulders and bringing me to face him, and I bury my face in his shoulder, soaking his shirt with salt tears. 

His hand goes to my back, rubbing in slow circles. 

"I can't do this, Roman." I choke, the sound of my voice wet and drowning in my own throat. "I can't do this." 

"Hey, look at me." Roman grabs my face, lifting it from his shoulder and staring me in the eyes, his darkened irises peering into mine. 

"Katya Emerson is not a bitch. You're not going to let some fat ass deadbeat scare you into giving up. Your madre needs you. You need you. Luka needs you." 

"He doesn't need me." I sniffle, wiping my nose with the sleeve of my shirt. "He's as confusing as everything else in my life." 

"Jesus, woman, Luka's just got a thing for you. Kiss and make up so we can all move on with our lives." 

His tone is dripping with jealousy, something I ignore. 

"How are we supposed to look for my mother now?" I ask, wiping under my eyes. 

"We just have to find a way to push this to our advantage." Roman sighs, leaning back in his chair. 

He's just got a thing for you. 

No, bad Katya. 

Push that back, so far back that it drops from your mind. 

"I got it." Roman snaps his fingers, and I jump, turning to face him. 

"What?" Excitement builds up in my voice, hope rising.

Roman's brows rise in a clever smirk, one that I have come to anticipate like presents on Christmas morning. 

"We can divert attention whenever we need to. We send in fake tip calls, saying that you were spotted in New York, in Miami, in fucking Switzerland. That can buy us some time, and as we all know time is precious." 

I pause for a moment, allowing the idea to sink in. 

"Roman, you're a goddamn genius!" I shout out, wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. "Oh my god, I could kiss you right now!"

He laughs with me, but we both freeze as a voice in the doorway catches our ears. 

"Go ahead."

I spin around, and come to face a very red-faced Luka, who stands in the doorway, dressed in a robe and his hair dripping with water. 

I quickly scramble off of Roman's lap and brush my hair away from my face. 

"Calmate, hermano. No pasó nada." Roman speaks to Luka, rolling away from me and towards him. "Relájate."

"¿Ella lloraba?" (Was she crying?) Luka asks something, pointing at my face with a fierce finger. 

I look to Roman in confusion, not understanding a word. 

Roman just shakes his head at me, grabbing Luka by the arm and whispering something in his ear, nodding towards me. 

Luka looks between me and Roman, and back again, and follows Roman from the room, leaving me more confused than before. 

Sorry I haven't been updating as much, life is crazy right now. Longer updates coming soon :) 

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