Hayley sat there looking at a magazine while working at the Sports Authority at the Orlando Mall when she heard commotion outside the store. A guy in a baseball cap ran in and ran up to the desk.   

      “Excuse me, do you have a place I could hide, quickly,” he said out of breath. She pointed to the backroom. He ran in and closed the door. A group of girls came into the store.

      “Excuse me, have you seen a guy in a red baseball cap,” a girl said.

      “No, I haven’t, sorry, I’ve been reading this magazine, hadn’t seen anything,” Hayley said.

      “We saw him run in here,” another girl said.

      “I’m sorry but like I said, I was reading this magazine so I didn’t see anything,” Hayley said.

      “Thanks,” one of the girls said. They went out the door.  Hayley made sure they were gone and went to the backroom and knocked on the door. The guy opened it and smiled at her. She recognized him as Kevin Richardson.

      “They are gone, Kevin,” Hayley said. She sat down at the desk.

      “You know who I am,” Kevin said.

      “Yeah, but I won’t say anything,” Hayley said. Kevin smiled at her.

      “Thanks,” Kevin said.

      “They headed to the food court so better go the opposite way,” Hayley said.

      “Are you busy after work?” Kevin asked.

      “No, why,” Hayley said.

      “I was wondering if you would like to go out with me,” Kevin said.

      “You want to go on a date with me?” Hayley asked.

      “Yeah,” Kevin said.

      “Sure, I get off work in a few minutes,” Hayley said. Kevin smiled. A guy ran into the store.

      “There you are, I thought they caught you and took you off somewhere,” the guy said. Hayley looked at him and recognized him as Nick.

      “Nah, I hid him in the backroom until they were gone, he was safe,” Hayley said. Three more guys came in. Hayley saw that it was Brian, Howie, and AJ. Brian came over to her.

      “Hi Hayley,” Brian said.

      “Brian, you know her?” Kevin asked.

      “Kev, you tell me that you don’t recognize your own cousin?” Brian asked.

      “Hayley?” Kevin said. He looked at her.

      “How did you find me, Brian,” Hayley said.

      “I overheard Mom telling Dad,” Brian said.

      “This is Hayley?” Nick asked.

      “Yeah,” Brian said.

      “Why were you trying to find her?” Howie asked.

      “She ran away from home when she was 16,” Brian said.

      “I can’t believe this,” Kevin said.

      “Well, you found me, so what now, Brian, what are you going to do now,” Hayley said.

      “Well, first I would like to hug my sister, who I haven’t seen in ten years, and second, I would like to know why you ran away from home,” Brian said. The guys looked at Hayley.

Chapter 2

Hayley looked at them and looked at the counter. She sat down and looked at them. Matt came in and looked at her. She clocked out and went home with Brian. She sat down. The guys sat down.

      “I ran away because I went against Mom and Dad’s beliefs and slept with a guy from school, I ended up pregnant, but I had a miscarriage, I ran away after that because I felt guilty and I knew they would disown me if they knew the truth,” Hayley said. Brian looked at her.

      “Hayley, if that happened, you could have called me, I would have taken you in,” Brian said.

      “I was scared you wouldn’t, that you would side with them and I would have nowhere to go,” Hayley said. Brian hugged his sister.

      “You would always have a place to go, here with me,” Brian said.

Three months later, Hayley and Nick hung out a lot and grew closer. They soon became a couple and Hayley told Brian. He smiled and told her that he was happy for her and Nick. He knew that they belonged together. A week later, Nick and Hayley were living together. They were sleeping in the same bed. Hayley laid there looking at Nick as he slept. She smiled and thought about how she got so lucky. Nick opened his eyes and saw her watching him and smiled. He leaned over and kissed her softly.

      “I am so lucky to have you,” Nick said.

      “Same here,” Hayley said. He pulled her close and held her close as he went back to sleep. She watched him sleep and knew she was so lucky to give her heart to him. She never wanted there to be a day with him in her life.

THE END!