THE PUZZLE

DARK PAST

Alex turned in the couch again, he had been trying to sleep for the last few hours in vain.Ever since he discovered the truth about his past, his mind had been all over the place.He had soo many questions that only led to even more questions.

Why would someone want to kill a low life overworked and underpaid lawyer?If his sister was never found did she drown? Was she alive.How did he end up in a childrens home at Wagon Wheel? were just but a few questions that flooded his mind.Making it almost impossible to think straight.

However, as of now his mind was elsewhere.last week during prom someone wanted him dead but they didn't succeed, he was still trying to figure out why, not because he so much cared but because whoever it was later broke into his house and killed his adoptive mother, leaving him with no one to answer his questions or help him grieve.Aggie's parents had forced her to take an early college admission.They wanted her as far as possible from Alex.He was all alone trying his best to make sense of the situation.

If only he knew he wasn't alone since a few hours drive away, in the Wagon Wheel border forest , a trailer was parked in the woods and in it was a rather beautiful girl trying to put together photos of the dead guys and two thought to be kidn*pped youngsters together on a board.

Every time Alex closed his eyes to sleep, clear images of his fathers white casket and his mothers blue one kept blinding his thoughts jolting him back awake.He had cried his head off to a point where his eyes were all swollen and red.His head hurt and his whole being was exhausted.He wished he would wake up in the morning to find that it was all just a nightmare.

He remembered how he had gone down to the children's home the day of the mothers burial to try and dig up about his past.There he found Mr Absalom who had been his old days father figure, the founder and care taker of Wagon Wheel Children's home.He had had some rather good times inside those walls ,and was grateful to be found by a loving happy couple who took care of him till the end.

Mr Absalom explained what he knew at his best and Alex just sat there listening to the story that was playing like a badly produced film in his mind."About nineteen years ago, I saw an article in the local newspaper of a boy about three years stranded in a hospital.The story said just a bit but they were asking whoever knew the boy or his family to go and pick him up. My gut feeling told me there was more to the story than anyone would tell so I went down to the hospital.There you were .

Since no one had come to pick you and the hospital bill was rising exponentially, I offered to take you home with me as the search for your family went on.It was not until six months later that I learned the truth.I would have told you eventually but back then you were too young to understand. According to the doctors report, someone had strangled you soo bad which explained the marks on your neck ,after they thought you were dead they let go.You were found later at the bank of a river by some lads who had gone fishing and that is how you ended up here.Months later the stories of a lawyer and his wife being found on the banks of river Maranda covered up in stones were all over the town and I speculated you were one of their two kids as rumors had it they had two kids a boy and a girl whose whereabouts were unknown.

I decided to keep you around though in case that wasn't the case.I also tried to look around for your sister but after a few months of searching with no luck I stopped.maybe she is still out there somewhere, time will tell.That is just about all that I know though your parents might have continued the search.I am also really sorry for your loss and if you ever need anything I will always be right here to help," Mr Absalom explained.

Later that day he would show up at her mothers burial late and all drained of strength.He would spend the next four hours listening to people talking good things about his mother ,things they never told her while she was alive and it hurt him even more.The burial would be finally over and he would be on his way home missing Aggie's presence a lot.

And so today as Alex rolled over and over the couch his thoughts revolved around the truth, trying to wrap himself around the fact that he would have been dead were it not for some boys who had gone fishing nineteen years ago.The fact that his birth parents were killed when he was just a baby and the thought that his elder sister was never found.He hoped that she was alive and promised himself to go looking for her as soon as he was done avenging his mothers death.

Deep down he missed Aggie but he was also happy she wasn't around to deal with this madness.She took stuff rather personally and Alex knew that the story would have torn her apart.All he was left with was her promise to help and a goodbye kiss but he knew she was safe away from him and that was what that mattered.

As he drifted off to sleep, he made himself a promise to stay away from Aggie for her own safety.What he didn't know was at that very moment Aggie had also made a promise to not leave him to deal with the situation alone and had skipped school and was coming home to the love of her life, even though she never told him that.

Few Miles away, Milley was in her trailer crying while holding her family's portrait.She would later prepare for her next attack and jump into bed and fade off to slumber land while miles and miles away Detective Mark was preparing to go down Wagon Wheel where he had traced one of the goons he had been following for a while now.He still had Milley in his thoughts and missed her soo soo much.

By the time Aggie arrived at Alex's , it was well past midnight and since she had a spare key she just let her self in went straight to the washroom took a shower, put on her night dress, covered Alex with a blankie carefully not to wake him up before dropping herself on his bed in exhaustion . He would wake up to a surprise.

His dark past had catched up with him and not in a good way.If only someone had prepared him for this crap.If only someone would have seen it coming.Starting from the next morning he had a plan .Even though in his mind he thought he was in this alone, out there the universe was putting together a plan of its own.It would dawn to him later but for now he needed to gear up and be ready to face the ugly world of pain, death and vengeance, and Aggie was there to stay and help him through.