LOST AND FOUND - ALYSSA PERRINE: CHAPTER ONE PREVIEW

It was April and the sky was a mix of a light pink and a baby blue, and they blended together as if an artist had painted the scene just for her to experience for just a moment. The clouds in the sky appeared to Alexandria as if they were plucked out of a graphic novel and placed where they are now. It was a picture perfect morning for their plans. 

"Hurry up!" She called out, before beginning to pick up her pace again. They were only three buildings away from the hotel when Alexandria tripped and fell over herself with a loud 'Umph!' sound. Everette stopped to look towards her, only offering a groan of annoyance. "You're slowing us down."

"I think I twisted my ankle." Alexandria replied earnestly.

"You're an idiot. I need you for this."

She signed. "Can't it just wait a minute? It's literally right over there. Let me rest my ankle for a minute and I can probably get going."

Everette let out another sound of annoyance. "You know what? I should seriously just do this without you. I don't even know why I brought you along."

Alex wiped the dirt and dust off of her clothes as she brought herself up to a standing position. She leaned all her weight onto one leg before limping her way to the edge of the building. "What are you doing?" Everette hissed out. 

"I'm resting! If you can do it without me then do it without me! I don't give a shit!" She waved her hands in the air before dusting them off on her pants. She was wearing a black long sleeve crop top and a black pair of leggings which had now been stained tan with dust and dirt. "Stop being a bitch! You know I need you. Just shut the fuck up and rest or whatever?"

She rolled her eyes. She didn't exactly like Everette, but he provided stability. A place to live. Her life hadn't always been as easy as it was now. Or, at least, she told herself she had it easy. All she had to do was release a couple of songs, and post a couple of photos, and sometimes perform here or there. It was really simple. 

People had grown to love her music over the years, and so Everette took it on himself to become her manager. Her friend, Benji, helped her with producing all of her tracks. Despite this, she was still on top of the roof tops, with Everette asking her for just one more favor. She owed him, he said.

It were true. He had been supplying her with drugs, recently. He took her out of a shitty situation she was living in, and even started to provide for her. Of course, she had to do the cleaning and she was still expected to run her own career, but aside from that, Everette provided everything else. 

It wasn't much, if she were being honest. A roof over her head, food in her belly, and a warm safe place to sleep. There wasn't much luxury in her lifestyle, but sometimes there was the occasional celebrity party she got invited to as an up and comer. She even had a management team who helped her work through the drama she got into.

You see, Everette liked to watch fights. Sometimes the two would go out, and if he saw a really rowdy girl at the bar, he'd ask Alex to start a fight. He'd tell her he'd get her all of the things she wanted. A new purse, to go out on all these dates, or even drugs, and so of course, she would do it.

She didn't win all of the fight she started, but she always came out looking like the better person, somehow. Maybe it was by luck. Maybe it was the unexpectedness of the way she would go about her fights. She didn't like to dwell on it. It was something he promised he'd never do again.

She looked down at her bruised legs. Alex had tried to leave him multiple times. It wasn't like she WANTED to be with him, but having to find a place to stay, and find a way to keep making money when he's so entwined in her life and career was difficult. She threatened to leave multiple times, and even managed to succeed a couple of times, staying with friends. But she always found herself coming back to Everette.

"Are you ready yet?" he called out while kicking his feet underneath him. He was always very impatient. He didn't like how long it took Alex to get ready, or how long she stayed at certain events. So she stopped going, and she stopped getting ready. It was her tomboy era, and her boyfriend era, she told herself. 

"Yeah. Let's get this over with." Alex replied, slapping her hands to her knees as she stood up. The buildings were close together, and there was a window that lead into the Star Haven hotel from the side. She could see it in the distance, even from where she was at. They trekked the rest of the way, Alex's ankle hurting all the while.

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