Serenia's mind was in a frenzy as he danced with her. She forced herself to relax in his grip, so she wouldn't make him angry.
"Karen," he murmured, "You're so beautiful."
"Karen," Serenia thought to herself. The name didn't mean anything to her. Then her eyes widened as she remembered what James had told her. His dead wife!

Theresa sighed as she huddled into her fur coat. She couldn't stand the cold. Perhaps that is why Paul had moved him and Serenia here. He hadn't wanted to lose their precious daughter to her.
Theresa's blood was hot in her veins. Now here she was, trying to find her daughter, who was probably lying through her teeth for attention.
She walked through the snow in her high heels to the car, "She will be punished for this." she murmured.
Once she reached the car, however, she wondered how she was going to find Serenia. She could go to the one hotel that was here, but she doubted that she could get her hotel room number from the manager. There again, she smirked. everyone has a price. She, herself, found that out when she was told that she could be a model. It had definitely paid off...

James knew that something was wrong. His dad was off of work, and he wasn't in a drunken stupor, sleeping it off on the couch.
"Another one..." James thought, and then his eyes widened as he thought, "Serenia."
He didn't want to believe it as he walked out the door. There was only one way to find out...

Serenia walked to her hotel room, "You're coming with me," she mimicked and scowled, "I'm not going anywhere with you." she said as she opened the door, and then gasped.
Larry was waiting for her with ice skates in his lap, "Yes, I do believe you are going somewhere with me," he held up the ice skates, and Serenia groaned, "This time, you won't escape." he grabbed her roughly and as hes started taking her to the lake. It was late, and Serenia could barely see what was in front of her.
They finally arrived at the lake, and another groan came from Serenia's lips as she thought about the pain that she was going to have to go through in just a few short minutes.
She thought about her life. It didn't seem like she had done anything to help someone else, only herself, and that pained her even more. Larry forced her to put on the ice skates, and she did so slowly. He slapped her back, hard. She fell on her hands and knees, sobbing, "Why are you doing this?"
"Just hurry up!" he growled angrily, and she did as she was told.
She felt something warm and sticky on her back. Somehow, she knew that one of the old scars had been reopened, and she felt it oozing down her back.
He pushed her onto the ice, and she nearly fell, but all the unwanted practices of ice skating had taught her how to balance. She sighed with relief, but it was short-lived as he started dancing with her.

Paul sighed as he realized his visitor was Theresa, not Serenia. He had wanted Serenia to be warned about Theresa before she showed up, but now it was too late. He should be relieved that Theresa came here quickly, but he knew that something was wrong, because Paul was the last person Theresa would want to see.
Theresa picked up the phone with a napkin. She hated germs on everything, and she tried to avoid them as much as possible. "Serenia won't come with me." she said without so much as a "hello."
Paul raised his eyebrows, "Does that surprise you?"
Theresa looked at him coldly, "You turned my own daughter against me."
Paul sighed, "You did that to yourself, but arguing is not going to help the situation. You must find a way to bring her here."
Theresa snorted, "That won't work."
"Make it work!" Paul snapped at her, "Her life depends on it. I can feel it."
Theresa hesitated, "She did say that someone was after her, trying to kill her, because she's an ice skater."
There was fear in Paul's eyes, "Then what are you doing here?! You need to find her NOW!" he hung up the phone before Theresa could argue with him further.
Theresa stood up haughtily as she walked away. It was a small town. It should not be too hard to find Serenia...

Theresa pulled up to the jail house where her ex husband was. She hadn't seen him in two years, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to face him now.
She sighed as she got out of the car. She didn't have a choice...

Theresa sighed, "I was at that time in my life when I wanted adventure, Serenia. I would hope that you could understand-"
"Understand?! You want andventure? Try being beaten almost everyday, because you share a connection with a boy you have just barely met, and his father is abusive. Then on top of it, the same guy is trying to kill me, because he kills ice skaters! Is that adventurous enough for you, mother?"
"I told you that you shouldn't ice skate," her mother mother pointed out, "It's dangerous."
"That's not the point!" Serenia yelled and walked away.
Theresa sighed in frustration, "Serenia, get back here right now!"
"No!" Serenia said stubbornly and kept walking.
Theresa looked at Serenia angrily as she got into her car. She started driving next to Serenia, "I am renting a cabin here, and you're staying with me."
"Who died and made you the Queen of Sheba?" Serenia murmured and didn't stop walking.
Theresa became furious, "I will talk to your father about this!"
"What is he going to do? He's behind bars, because if he wasn't, I would have face my whore of a mother!" Serenia cried and ran into an alley. Theresa couldn't fit the car in it.
Theresa hit the steering wheel, "Dammit..."

Theresa's eyes went dark, "Be careful with the way you talk to me. I am still your mother."
Serenia's eyes narrowed, "How did you know that I was living by myself, mother?"
Theresa hesitated, "Your father told me."
"No, he didn't. I didn't even tell him. In fact, I didn't even tell him that I worked here!"
Theresa sighed, "Fine, I came here looking for you. I ended up finding you at school and following you."
"That means you got here just seconds before I did, but that doesn't explain how you found out that I was homeless."
Theresa looked guilty, "I asked around and found out about a girl who was homeless. It didn't take long to figure out that it was you."
Serenia frowned, "Great, I was being followed and didn't even realize it."
Theresa sighed, "What is going on, Serenia. Please tell me."
"It's not like you care," Serenia glared, "I have tables to take care of."
She ran off to another table and asked them what they wanted, ignoring her mother the whole time.
Theresa stayed the whole time, until her shift was over. Serenia walked out the door without so much as another word to her mother. Theresa had to run in her high heels in order to catch up to her, "I'm sorry. Maybe running off with another man was not such a good idea-"
"Not such a good idea?!" Serenia turned angrily, "My dad loved you, and you decided to be selfish and leave your family for another man?! Were we not good enough for you?"

Serenia was about to lie and say that it wasn't true,but one look into Ken's eyes, and she knew that lying wouldn't help her situation any, "Yes, I have."
Ken cursed under his breath and looked at her, "What the hell happened that you had to take care of yourself?"
Serenia wanted to tell him and almost did, but she stopped herself, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I can tell you one thing. That woman who calls herself my mother was never there for me before, and I'm not going with her now."
Ken thought for a minute and looked at her mother, who was staring at them suspiciously, then turned back to Serenia, "You have to go with her. You can't just take care of yourself. This may be a small town, but there's some crazy people here." his eyes seemed to hold all the understanding of the world in them.
Serenia studied him curiously, wondering if he knew the hell that she had been through, but that was impossible. Wasn't it? She slowly nodded. Even though her mother was a nutcase, she had bigger things to worry about here in Minnesota than in Las Vegas.
Ken slowly handed her a piece of paper and a pen, "Write your two weeks notice," Serenia complied, and Ken sighed, "You were one of my best workers."
Serenia had tears in her eyes, but refused to shed them as she slowly wrote her two weeks notice. She took one quick peek at her mother, who was tapping her foot in impatience, still wanting to talk to her daughter.
Serenia finished the notice by signing it and then handed it to Ken. He nodded and walked back to the kitchen.
Serenia walked back to her mother, "Mom, you shouldn't be here if you're not even going to eat anything. I have to work. I can't talk all day."

"No, I'm trying to watch my figure," she held up her nose, "And by the way, Serenia, you need to turn in a two weeks notice."
"I'm not leaving." Serenia insisted.
Ken came into the restaurant area and pulled Serenia to the side, "Do you know that woman?" he asked, pointing to her mother.
"Yes, that's my mother." Serenia's cheeks flushed embarrassment, and she was finding it hard to look Ken in the eyes.
Ken seemed taken aback, "You don't act like her at all."
"Thank you." it was a relief to hear those words, but she was still concerned about the damage that her mom would do.
Ken seemed to study her for a minute, and a look of sadness passed over his eyes, "She said something about you turning in a two weeks notice."
"No. She's lying." Serenia said stubbornly.
Ken lightly laughed, "Sit down for a minute." he indicated the table next to them.
Serenia, though, shook her head, "I have work to do." her heart was beating rapidly from what she knew he wanted to talk about.
Ken smiled, "I am your boss. I'm still going to pay you, but I want to talk to you about something."
Serenia hesitantly sat down across from him. Ken sighed and looked like he was trying to gather his thoughts together. Finally, he said, "Your mother says that you are moving to Las Vegas with her. I can't argue against your mother, Serenia," Serenia looked like she was about to argue, but he continued without letting her talk, "She was also told that you were living by yourself for the last few days. Is that true?"

Serenia woke up and started her day. She went to school, even though she felt like hiding in her hotel room.
The day went uneventful, and Serenia sighed in relief. However, a shock approached her when she went to work. Her mom was sitting in a booth. "Mom?" she couldn't hide the shock from her voice.
Her mother barely looked like her mom anymore. In fact, she looked more like a movie star. Her mother smiled, "Hello, Serenia. Look at you-all grown up." Theresa, Serenia's mom, had her golden hair in curls and her bright blue eyes sparkled like never before.
""What are you doing here?"
Theresa looked at her, "Is that any way to greet your mother?"
"You left with a stranger." Serenia reminded her.
"He wasn't really a stranger. He-" Theresa cut off when she saw the look in Serenia's eyes, "Your father wrote me. He said that you were in trouble, and he had also stated that you are in dangers. He wanted me to take you back to Las Vegas with me."
"Las Vegas?! No way! Dad needs me, and so does James."
"Who is James, and do you mind telling me what's going on? Your father kind of left me in the dark on the details."
"It would take too long, and I need to get back to work. Are you going to order something or not?"

Larry felt better after the kill, but he still felt restless, like that girl wasn't enough. He knew he had to be careful, but his heart and body wanted more blood to be shed for his revenge.
He remembered what his first kill had felt like. He felt guilt, at first, but the feeling of power came later. Triumph came with it.
Now, he knew he needed to get revenge on the one who had escaped. He had been too anxious with that one, and now she knew what he was up to.
The girl needed to die, and fast. Larry wondered why he wanted to go after the inexperienced skater. It didn't take him long to answer himself.
Serenia reminded him of his dead wife. His wife used to be an inexperienced ice skater. Larry, himself, taught her how to ice skate. Her beauty and grace had always brought tears to his eyes-and now, she was gone...

James felt better now that Serenia was sleeping somewhere off the streets. Now he was going to have to face his father, and he wasn't looking forward to it.
James wanted to run away with Serenia, away from his father. At the same time, however, he knew that it was not a smart move. One stupid mistake on his part could be the death of Serenia. So he had to stay and lead his dad away from Serenia's trail...

Serenia followed their directions, to the third floor, last one on the right. She opened the door.
The room was old-fashioned with a flower bed spread and pictures on the walls. It had a great view of the lake, though, and Serenia put her bag on the bed.
She quickly hopped into the shower. The hot water felt so good, and she felt so much better when she got out.
She turned on the T.V as she got dressed. She fell asleep while it was still on...