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     About a year before I lost my father, Aliah lost both of her parents in a car accident. It was one of those accidents where there wasn't even a slim chance of any human being getting out alive. They were killed instantly. Aliah hasn't had any real parents since she was eleven, and she helped me through losing my father when I was twelve. She was the one person in my life that understood me more than I even understood myself. I was so thankful for that. Being eleven at the time both of her parents died, her grandparents adopted her. Her grandfather then passed away when she was nineteen. Aliah was devastated. Now her grandmother lived along the beach in San Francisco, about five minutes away from where my house was. She was sick and elderly, but Aliah loved her so much. When we went to visit her I could feel the adoration pouring from her skin, her lips always looked so lush and pink when she smiled, with perfect white teeth, she looked like a child again. Those white teeth came into focus as I woke in my bed, Aliah beaming, standing over me with a tray filled with breakfast food. Orange juice, turkey bacon, a bagel with hazelnut cream cheese on the side, a knife and an apple. My best friend was really something.
     "You slept right threw New Years Eve! Happy New Year!"
I sat up and took the tray.
     "Thanks. You know we have to go looking for my mom; catching the next flight home is the plan. I hope you're all packed." I said, sipping my orange juice. The food looked tasty, but I wasn't sure my stomach could handle it. I pushed the tray aside.
     "Hanna, I'm sure she's fine. Maybe it was a joke or something." Aliah said. She always seemed to be so full of hope. I was envious.
     "What kind of joke would that be? A sick and twisted one, Aliah? I can't sit in Paris when there's a chance my mother could be somewhere, alone. A hostage." I started to shake again as the words came out and I threw the covers off of me, scrambling to get my clothes and toiletries into my suitcase. We were leaving, I didn't care what Aliah wanted. I was worried sick. I heard a heavy sigh and turned around.
     "What's wrong?" I asked, not sure I wanted to get into an argument with her over something based thoroughly on common sense. Of course my mother came over partying and shopping. Was she insane?
     "It's just hard for me to to back there." She said. I almost screamed.
     "What?! We just had a conversation about you going home because of Ryan. You were dying over not   seeing the guy!" I shouted. Aliah stood up.
     "Hanna, he called this morning and broke up with me." She said, tears trailing down her cheeks. "He told me flat out that he cheated on me and he was sorry. I said all the first things that came to mind and told him I never wanted to see him again." She plopped down on my bed, defeated. I sighed.
     "Aliah-"
     "No. Please don't start this again. Don't try to tell me it's going to be alright. It's not alright, Hanna."
I sat down next to her on the bed and looked at her. A mess of pain. I didn't know what I could say to her. It seemed as if words would mean nothing. Instead I walked over to my desk, picked up Aliah's cell phone, and dialed Ryan's number. She looked at me with confused, tearful eyes and waited. The line rang until finally Ryan's voice came on the other line.
     "Hello?" He answered.
     "Hi. This is Aliah's best friend, Hanna." I stated matter-of-factly. He cleared his throat.
     "Yeah? Can I help you or something?" He asked, annoyed. It made me furious. I looked at Aliah who had the most pathetic puppy-dog face I'd ever seen.
     "Yes, there is something you can help me with actually." I mused. "I would like you to get a life and man up. Cheating on your girlfriend does not make you amazing. It makes you disgusting, repulsive even. I hope you know we will be calling the other girl. You will end up alone. Delete this number from your phone, and delete Aliah from your memory." I snapped the phone shut and tossed it into Aliah's lap.
     "I can't believe you did that." She said, sounding impressed.
     "Aliah that guy was a pig. Do not underestimate me." I winked and she stood up, hugging me.
     "You know Hanna, I'm twenty-three. I can take care of my own problems." She said.
     "Well you shouldn't have to be alone. No matter how old you are." I smiled.
Aliah looked gorgeous with her long wavy brown hair, collapsing around her shoulders and falling to just above her hips. She was slender and elegant, like a ballerina from a fairytale. I longed to somehow acquire her skin. I coveted it. Pale and porcelain, like a doll. It was perfect. And I let her know that everyday as she applied thick makeup. There just were no blemishes to cover. Me on the other hand, my hair was jet black, like a raven. It was the same length as Aliah's, but unlike her, I had to work to get it wavy. I curled it almost every morning, unsatisfied with the way it looked otherwise. This morning, I had my hair in a messy bun at the top of my head, and my Victoria's Secret sweatpants and sweatshirt were no match for Aliah's skin-tight True Religion jeans and Juicy Couture shirt. I didn't care much though, my mother was the only thing on my mind. I finished packing and Aliah helped me carry my suitcases downstairs, piling them into the limo, on top of her own bags. We stood back and glanced up at the house one last time. It was gorgeous. White with vines draped along the side, balconies on every floor, and giant windows that looked out over Paris; the Effiel Tower was in the distance. A perfect view.
     "Well I guess that's it." Aliah said as she walked around the side of the limo, ducking in the door being held open by the driver.
     "Yeah. We'll be back again soon." I sighed.
It was time to find my mother.

     The flight back to San Francisco was long and exhausting, and I got off the jet with frizzy hair and sticky skin. It was hot here, unlike Paris. Aliah and I just finished collecting our baggage and were getting in the limo when my phone went off. A new text. I deflated into the limo seat and pulled my phone from my bag. It was from my mother's address and it read:
If you have landed, meet me at home. I'm waiting."
I felt like I was in a bad soap opera and my head spun. Instead of responding to the text, I dialed my mother's number. It went straight to voicemail. I was crying by this time.
     "What is it?!" Aliah asked, panicked.
I simply held out my phone with the text on it, and she gasped as she read it.
     "Your mom wrote that? Or maybe-"
     "Maybe her kidnapper did. She wasn't answering her phone." I said, my voice clouded by tears. I took my phone back from Aliah.
     "This is enough, I am calling the police." I said, dialing 911 into the keypad.
A woman on the other end answered, asking me what my emergency was.
     "My mother has been kidnapped and is being held hostage." I said. As I spoke the words, my throat clenched up and I became disoriented. What if this all was just a joke and my long lost cousin was trying to surprise me or something? Maybe I should go home first.... No. I sat up straight and gripped the phone tighter. I was not putting myself in danger by going home to a kidnapper. Who knew how that would end. The woman on the other end asked for my address and I gave it to her, explaining the entire situation. She paused when I was finished, and suddenly the words poured from her mouth like bitter wine.
     "I'm sorry, Ms. Carson, but it appears that your mother, Vanessa, passed away last week. A horrible murder. I'm not so sure why you haven't heard of this, but I am truly sorry to be the one to inform you. Goodbye now." And she hung up. Just like that.  I felt the blood freeze in my body, my hands shook and I dropped my phone on the floor of the limo. Aliah gripped my knee, her hands warm against my numb flesh.
     "Hanna? Hanna what is it? Hanna?!" She screamed at me like I was having trouble hearing. I stared straight ahead and opened my mouth, hardly moving my lips as I spoke.
"She was murdered."