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12

"Are you ready?" Alexander asked excitedly as he waited beside the entrance of the church.

"As ready as I'll ever be." David replied. "Let's get going."

The boys made their way to the door and opened it. As soon as the door opened, the smell of incense hit Alexander full force. As he inhaled deeply, the aroma filled his nose. The smell reminded him of a memory he'd long forgotten about. He closed his eyes as he inhaled the scent. Then he opened them to take a good look around the room. There were rows and rows of pews, decorated with beautiful stained glass windows and red carpeted floors. A large banner hung from the ceiling above the pulpit, reading "Welcome Home". A young man stood in front of the microphone holding a microphone with a bible in hand. Alexander stared at the man in shock. The man in front of him resembled his father. He had the same dark hair, brown eyes, and tall build as his father. Except, he was dressed completely differently; in a long, white dress shirt and dark gray slacks. His face was devoid of any expression and there was something almost eerily blank in his expressionless blue eyes. The only feature the man displayed other than his appearance were the faint scars which marred his left cheekbone, chin, nose, eyebrow, cheek, and neck.

The man turned away from the microphone abruptly and began walking down the aisle without waiting for anyone else to get up.

"Who is that?" Alexander questioned quietly to himself.

"What's wrong, Alexander?" David inquired.

"Nothing." Alexander replied dismissively as he brushed past him. "Let's just go find mom already."

"I told you, I don't remember anything!" Jonathan snapped.

"Mom told me you didn't tell her everything." Alexander defended.

"Why don't you ask her yourself then?" Jonathan spat bitterly.

"And risk your temper being the death of me? No thank you." Alexander responded sarcastically. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we really need to talk to our parents."

Jonathan scoffed in annoyance as Alexander ushered his mother towards the door.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Jonathan whirled around and glared fiercely at Alex.

"Why did you bring her in here?" He growled furiously.

"She wanted to come in to check on you, Dad." Alexander explained patiently.

Jonathan raised an unimpressed brow skeptically.

"And she was willing to come here all the way to New York just to talk to me?" Jonathan asked dryly.

"Pretty much." Alexander shrugged. "She' kind of worried sick about you."

Jonathan rolled his eyes.

"Well, you're not exactly helping your cause by bringing her here." Jonathan muttered angrily. "I can't see why I should listen to you anyway. You're nothing but trouble."

"I'm sorry, Dad." Alexander sighed in exasperation. "But you're not listening. She wants to visit you too. Maybe she could help you."

Jonathan scowled at Alexander's statement.

"Why would you suggest that?" Jonathan asked with a frown.

"Because it's true." Alexander replied seriously. "I haven't seen or heard anything of Mom since she got home."

Jonathan clenched his jaw in anger.

"I don't give a shit what you want or think I should do or not do. I am my own person and I don't need anybody's help." He stated firmly.

"Oh really?" Alexander crossed his arms and glared at his dad. "Then where exactly did all those bruises come from? And why don't we think about why you're suddenly missing? Is somebody bullying you again?"

Jonathan looked furious as he stared daggers at his son. Alexander knew that his words hadn't been taken as anything other than a serious accusation.

"Get out." Jonathan snapped.

"Fine." Alexander huffed before storming out of the room.

Chapter 13

Alexander slammed the car doors shut, sending a cloud of dust flying into the air.

"God, Alexander!" Mary exclaimed as she threw her keys in her purse. "Please put the damn seat belt on before you kill somebody."

Alexander scowled at his mother before clicking the seat belt back into place.

"Sorry. It's hard to focus." Alexander mumbled sarcastically.

Alexander leaned forward and rubbed his temples. They had been driving for nearly forty five minutes, trying to find John's address. They finally found him about twenty miles from his house. Alexander pulled the car over to the side of the road, turning the engine off. He sat back in his seat with a sigh and looked around him. It seemed almost unreal how similar everything looked. Alexander's mind drifted to the events from last night. How could a stranger just disappear out of nowhere? Couldn't they have just disappeared? Alexander didn't understand what was happening. He wanted answers, but he didn't even know what question he was asking. Why would John decide to leave his life behind? What happened to all the time spent talking to each other on the phone every day? Was it possible that someone took him? Alexander couldn't help feeling a little guilty thinking of the possibility. He couldn'