"Mom, have you seen my black boots?" Summer walked into her living room nonchalantly, having not noticed the stranger sitting on the sofa.

She was busy looking at her phone, scrolling through Instagram. When she didn't get a reply, she looked up. She saw the man, and her parents sitting across from him. The man was looking at her, his eyes viciously stern turning a little lustful. She noticed how he gawked at her body. She turned to face her parents, and saw a flash of fear in both their faces.

"Honey, why don't you go inside?" Her father finally spoke, breaking the silence. He looked straight into her eyes and she knew something was wrong. But he tilted his face forward still staring at her, making it crystal clear she had to leave. It was his signal when he really wasn't interested in a second opinion, she knew. She nodded her head quickly and walked out of the room.

She hurried into the closest bedroom, keeping her ear glued to the door. She had no idea what was happening, but she knew they were all in danger.

"I don't have to tell you what happens next, John!" She heard an unfamiliar voice speak. "You should've known the risks before taking the damn loan from him!" There was a minute of silence. She knew well her father was in trouble.

"I need a month. But please," Summer could hear the helplessness in her father's voice. She wished to run into the other room and hug him. But she controlled her emotions. "Leave my family alone."

The laughter that erupted from the living room was hard to miss. The stranger was amused by her father's response. "If there's one thing to remember in our line of work, it is that whatever you do always comes back to your family. Especially when you have a family like the cutie you just sent inside-"

"Don't you speak about my daughter like that EVER AGAIN!" A chill ran down Summer's spine. She was scared about herself, her father and what he may do in the next minute as well.

"Relax! You know I respect you enough to leave her alone. But anyone else that Vance sends.... will probably not be that considerate. I'll be back in a month." Summer heard the door opening and closing and barged into the living room, demanding answers.

"Mom! Dad! What's happening? Who was that man?" Her voice had a hard time not breaking, she was still unnerved.

"Honey, there was a fire at your father's factory last night." Her mother spoke with tears in her eyes.

"WHAT?" Summer couldn't believe her mother. She had been to the factory just the previous day. She let her body fall to the couch and braced herself for what was to come. She was well-aware of her father's ties with the local money-laundering criminal, Matthew Vance. Her father had taken a loan from Vance years ago, when he hadn't been a criminal, just a rich businessman. But with time, Vance had delved too deep into illegal activities to multiply his riches and as a consequence, he had grown unsympathetic to other businessmen. Her father had tried hard to fully repay him, but to no avail. Vance had kept on increasing the interest rate. She fearfully wondered how much her father owed him.

"Dad?" She murmured.

"Yes sweetie?"

"How bad is it?"

"Really bad." Her father didn't meet her eyes. She saw that there was a hint of moisture under his eyes. She had never seen her father cry.

Their situation must really be very bad, she thought.

***

"Peppermint Latte as always, Anthony." Summer smiled as she spoke. She had cried for an hour in her room, and then walked out desperately searching for her friend Anthony. He had been like a big brother to her most her life. And she loved that his father owned the local cafe 'The Brewery', where Anthony worked too. That way every time she went to see him, she could also get to have some delicious coffee.

Anthony turned around to make her order, but not before noticing the sad expression on her face. He could tell she had been crying. As he filled the cup with her favorite coffee, he heard her sniff.

"Okay, how long am I supposed to wait before I can ask what's wrong?" He said, turning around to pass her the cup.

Summer couldn't meet her best-friend's eyes. She grabbed the cup and a tissue with it and walked to the side to sit on a bar stool. She leaned in to get a good scent of the aroma. It was the only thing that had made her happy, so far that day. She took a sip, letting the hot liquid wash down her food pipe. She didn't mind the burning sensation. In fact, she loved feeling warm. It was one of those things that always made her happy. But today, she didn't need to feel happy. All she wanted was to feel hopeful.

Anthony walked towards her, from the other side of the counter. He stopped and leaned to be close to her. "Talk to me, Summer."

"Dad's factory had a fire last night. Vance is after us." Summer saw no point in sugar coating her situation. "We're fucked."

She looked up to see him staring back at her, with a horrified expression on his face. It took him a minute to recover. "Wh-what then?" He managed to say, after gulping down the lump that had formed in the back of his throat.

Summer looked at him with the same defeated look she had walked in with earlier. "I have no idea." She took another sip of her coffee. Thoughts like getting a job had crossed her mind. But who would hire her? She was still a semester away from finishing her college degree. She could still find a job working as a waitress, or a receptionist, maybe. But she wouldn't make, even in a year, anything close to the kind of money her father owed Vance. And when it came to her personal savings, all she could give her parents was her car and around four thousand dollars, which were all she had. If she was being honest with herself, the more she thought of it, the more bleak their situation was to her. She wasn't even sure if she could return to college after her winter break was over!

She dropped her head low, staring at the cup between her hands. Anthony stared at her tiny figure, feeling helpless. What type of friend was he if he couldn't even help her out when she needed him the most, he thought.

They were both silent. The cafe was pretty quiet too, the busy hour hadn't started yet. And then suddenly, out of nowhere a strange voice rung through the small space they were in.

"Summer? Summer Roberts?"

Summer's head shot up immediately. She turned around to see who it was, but deep down she had already placed a face to the voice. It has to be him, she thought.

And it was him! Her best friend from high school--Alex Lewis.

He stood halfway in, smiling at her. He wasn't the sweet boy she remembered though. He wasn't a boy. He was a man. He had a very muscular form and he was dressed in a suit and thick black-framed glasses. He looked like someone very, very important.

Summer could only stare back at him, and wonder why he was back in town, after all this time.