Brady had arrived home with his family yesterday. He had gone straight to his room and collapsed on his bed. His parents hadn't changed a thing about his bedroom. His old desk and chair were next to his bed, his sports trophies were still lined up on the bookshelves, even his old clothes were still in the closet.

He hated it.

Brady was no longer the teenager who had lived in this room. So after tossing and turning all night, he woke up with a goal in mind: clean out the room. He started with the closet, tossing all the things that no longer fit him onto the floor. He then started tossing all the garbage he had accumulated throughout the years. Old school assignments, the books he had never read, random crap he had once cared for, and then he looked over at all the basketball trophies. Anger began to fill his veins. Without thinking, he immediately began smashing them onto the ground. One by one he grabbed each one and continued to break them each one.

Then his brother ran into his room.

"Man, what are you doing?" Hayden yelled.

Brady ignored him and continued to trash the trophies. Hayden tried to grab him, that was a mistake. Brady not only flinched at the touch of his brother but then recovered and tackled him to the ground.

"What's your problem?" Hayden said as he fought with his brother.

Their parents ran in at once, just as Hayden got the upper hand.

"Boys stop it!" Mr. Carson yelled.

"Hayden, get off him," Mrs. Carson said sternly.

Hayden grumbled under his breath as he let go of his little brother and stood up.

"What's going on here? Brady, what happened to your room?" Mrs. Carson asked.

Brady just turned away from everyone and continued to grab medals and trophies off the shelves and toss them into the trash bag. .

The Carson's turned to their other son.

"I just heard loud noises and found him trashing his room," Hayden explained.

"And yet you somehow ended up wrestling?" Mr. Carson asked.

"He freaked when I tried to stop him," Hayden explained exasperatedly.

The Carson's glanced at each other and then back to Brady who was about to smash his state championship trophy.

"Brady stop, that trophy was everything to you," Mr. Carson said.

Brady looked at the trophy in his hand and without so much as a second thought smashed it into the ground.

Mrs. and Mr. Carson eyed each other nervously.Mrs. Carson signaled for them to step outside.

"Let's get Alison over here," she suggested.

"I don't think we should bother her, Mom," Hayden said wearily. "Whatever Brady's going through, she's probably going through the same thing."

"We have no way of understanding him, she does," Mrs. Carson explained desperately.

Mr. Carson nodded. "Hayden, why don't you go over and see if she can help."

"Alright. Where's the keys to the Porsche?"

"On the counter, but why don't you take my car instead? Let's give Brady the Porsche back and I'll look into getting you a new one, okay?"

Hayden nodded. "Okay, sure."

So, Hayden set off to Alison's in his father's Audi. Not that he was complaining. Hayden had gifted the Porsche to his little brother thinking that he would be going to the University of Alabama for football, when he found out Brady and Alison were missing, Hayden took the next flight out and came home. Missing the summer training camp had cost him his spot on the team.

However, he hadn't told anyone that. He just lied and said he was more interested in engineering and wanted to come home and study at a local university instead. He never told anyone that coming home to help his parents after his brother's disappearance was the real reason he had been forced to give up his dream of being a professional football player. It was a secret he was taking to his grave.

That was why he was anxious to be around Alison, a girl who was a bit too wise for this world. She would figure it out. He only hoped she would keep his secret.

Hayden remembered her fondly. Alison was barely fourteen when she started in Hayden's junior year math class, She had also been in his math class when he was senior. Alison had managed to piss off both teachers as she found mistakes in the homework or during exams, and she had no problem correcting the teacher in front of everyone.

Because of the advanced math class and her insane skateboarding skills, a few of the girls in Hayden's grade became good friends with Alison, who had no problems giving them exam and homework answers. In return, the girls used to let her drink and hang out at their parties.

Hayden knew that they were no good for her but he only watched her at many parties where Alison's boyfriend, Max, had to make sure she was safe. Alison had always been fearless, and drunk Alison had no problem showing it off. From skateboarding tricks to attempting dangerous stunts, Max always had his hands full.

He knew how much Max and Alison cared for each other though. Hayden had seen them together hanging out with Brady in their basement. He had seen a lot of their relationship and he knew that Max used to sneak over to Alison's house all the time, so he was half expecting to see him here when he knocked on the door. However, Alison's father answered instead.

"Hi, I'm looking for Alison, I'm Brady's brother and we were hoping she could help us with him," Hayden explained.

"She's in the guest house, you can go around back," her father explained.

Hayden nodded and went around to the back. He was not surprised to hear that Alison would not be living with her new family. He knocked on the door to the guest house. No answer. He knocked a little louder. Still no answer. He was about to give up after the fifth knock when he heard movement inside.

The door opened and Hayden was surprised how sleep deprived Alison looked. Her eyes bags were a purplish blue color and she looked grumpy about being woken up.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to bother you, but Brady-"

"Let's go," she said, her expression changing at once.

Hayden blinked once in surprise and then quickly nodded and led the way to his car. The drive was not that long and Alison already knew her way around the house, she stormed through and into his room, Hayden followed lingering in the hall though.

Alison walked in and found Brady on the floor sitting with his back against the bed. He looked up at her and Alison sat down next to him. She assessed the damage that had been done to the room. Then she looked over at Brady. He didn't have to explain, it was clear that she understood.

"I get it," she said softly. "Those kids we used to be died in the basement, why pretend to be people we aren't anymore."

Brady glanced over at her from the corner of his eye. He knew she would get it.

"I moved into our new guest house, it's nice. Too nice, the bed is too soft. I should love it, right? Except I got used to sleeping on that grimy basement floor. Even the hospital still felt a bit like the basement. So now I can't sleep," Alison murmured.

Brady felt bad. He knew her family was not going to be exactly welcoming, but Alison all on her own made him nervous for her.

He tapped something to her: he asked if she was okay.

Alison laughed. "Are you? I mean I don't think I'll ever be okay again."

Brady tapped twice, he agreed. Neither of them would ever be the same again.

It grew quiet between them, like it always used to be in the basement.

"We should probably clean up," Alison suggested.

Brady rolled his eyes. He knew his mom would just do it later. Brady flashed a mischievous smile and pulled something out of his pocket: the keys to his Porsche. Alison's eyes twinkled, as Brady tilted his head towards the door.

"Where are we going to go?" she asked as she followed him out of the room.

He just shrugged but he already had a plan forming. Alison didn't seem to mind though, she just followed after him.

Brady barely gave his family a second glance but Alison noticed all the Carson's gathered in the kitchen watching on with worry in their expressions.

"I think we're going out," Alison said as they passed by them.

"Where?" Mr. Carson asked.

Brady rolled his eyes. He didn't want them asking questions.

"No clue," Alison responded.

"Well here," Mrs. Carson said, handing something to Brady.

He took it and realized it was a new phone.

"I hope you don't mind but we're going to be tracking your location," she explained.

Brady stared at it for a moment and then put it in his pocket. He didn't care, he was secretly glad.

"All right, we'll see you later," Alison said as Brady already left for the garage.

They got in the Porsche and it took Brady a moment to remember how to breathe normally. It had been awhile since he had sat in this car.

"It's weird being in here again," Alison murmured.

Brady thought so too. He turned the car on and reversed out of the garage, his driving abilities still as good as they were a year ago.

"I never learned how to drive," Alison stated as they hit the main road.

Brady glanced over at her. He had forgotten Alison had only been fifteen when they were kidnapped, they had sourly celebrated her sixteenth in August and Brady's seventeenth in December both in the basement.

As Brady went faster and faster, he noticed Alison start to grip the side of her seat nervously.

He tapped something on the wheel to her: Scared?

She chuckled. "Of your driving? Hardly. There are worse things to be scared of."

Well, that was true. They both knew that.

"You could slow down though," she said softly.

Brady took a deep breath and then took his foot off the accelerator. He watched as the speed slowed from one hundred and twenty to sixty. Alison seemed to loosen her grip on the street.

Sorry, he tapped to her.

"It's okay," she said.

Brady pulled over on the side of the road and looked over at her. How could he explain all the things going on in his head? How could he get her to understand what he felt? The terrible feeling that he would never be the son and brother his family once knew. That it felt as if the whole world had moved a year forward and he and her had fallen behind. That the Brady that once loved basketball and his Porsche was long gone.

Somehow, he knew that she understood though.

"You don't want to go home, right?" she guessed.

Brady tapped back that he did not.

"What do you want to do?" she asked.

Brady turned the car back on. He began to speed again. Faster and faster and when he looked over at Alison, he noticed how nervous she looked. While Brady was distracted, the car veered slightly too left and he felt the wheel go out of his control.

"Brady!" Alison shrieked just as they collided into something.

At once, the airbags went off and Brady had to take a moment to process what had just happened. Although he already knew: He had crashed his once beloved Porsche into a tree.

If the Brady from before the basement had crashed the Porsche he would have freaked. He would have cried even. The Porsche had once been his pride and joy. Now, he didn't even care. He was kind of glad.

Alison looked over at him. "Are you okay?"

Brady nodded and they both began to get out of the car. Thankfully, the front of the car had sustained most of the damage. Alison came over to his side and he realized her arm was bleeding.

"It's okay," she said when she saw his face.

Brady frowned. He pulled his hoodie off and used it to apply pressure to the cut that was bleeding quite badly.

"It was fun, you know before we crashed," she murmured.

They both assessed the car. It was totaled. As Brady took a few things out of the car, Alison suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed on the ground.

Brady looked over at her worriedly and came over to her at once. He helped her sit up against the car.

"Sorry, I just feel a little dizzy," she said as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Brady looked nervous. Not only was Alison bleeding from her arm, but her shirt was torn and he saw some far worse injuries underneath.

"I kind of lurched into the side of the car," she explained.

Alison noticed the phone in his pocket.

"Your phone," she croaked. "Let me call for help."

He nodded and quickly pulled it out and handed it to her. She called the police. An ambulance arrived soon after and Alison and Brady were taken to the hospital, with a police escort who would not leave them alone.

"So let me get this straight," the officer said. "You lost control of the car and crashed it at exactly seventy miles per hour, the speed limit."

Brady and Alison looked between each other. The statement Alison had given him was almost the truth. However the officer was annoyed that Brady refused to speak.

"Two times in less than a month," the man muttered as he walked away.

Brady rolled his eyes. Alison shook her head at him, warning to let the comment go. Brady made a face but listened to her.

The doctor came by a few minutes later.

"Alison, how does your arm feel?" he asked.

Brady and Alison glanced at the stitches across her left arm. Something had cut it quite badly.

"I guess it's fine," she mumbled.

"All right, I'm going to prescribe some pain killers for the bruised rib," he said to her.

Both Brady and Alison hadn't even realized her rib was that bad. Perhaps all the torture this past year had given them a high pain tolerance.

Brady was fine. A little scratched up but not as bad as Alison who seemed to have taken the brunt of the crash.

Alison and Brady were finally discharged and both were met in the lobby by their families who were both worried and angry.

Mr. Hart went over to his daughter at once. While the Carson's were rather cautious with Brady.

Hayden was angry though. Sure he had given it to his little brother, but that was his car. He had begged his father for it, worked hard for months to prove he was responsible enough for it and less than a week after returning to his family, Brady had crashed the car. Still, Hayden could not be upset because it was Brady. He had suffered enough, so he hid his anger, especially when he looked over at his worried parents.

The Carson's were both thinking the same thing: they shouldn't have let Brady go. There was no way they could let him out of their sight now.

"Are you feeling okay?" his mother asked.

Brady only shrugged. He looked back over at Alison who was maneuvering out of her father's arms.

She shot him a look, clearly asking him if she was good to take off. Brady nodded once and they waved goodbye to each other.

Once in the car, Brady felt both his parents staring at him at every opportunity. At each red light his father would glance at him in the mirror. Each time Brady turned to look out the window his mother would look over at him with worry in her eyes.

Brady didn't care to comfort them. Not anymore.