Missing

His name was Edward James Herman Junior, but everyone called him Doc. He was one of the most popular drug dealers not only in San Diego, but in Southern California. Doc was like us, moving around a lot. Wherever he went, he made his business. He was only a few years older than Jesse, but probably had more wisdom than most. They called him Doc mainly because when he started out selling dope he sold pills rather than weed, coke, and meth. As his code-name, everyone would tell their friends to, "Go see the doctor." It was a funny and corny name, but he turned into Doc and it's what he goes by.

"How's my favorite girl!" He shouted at the sighed of me. Jesse shut the door behind him and Doc lifted me up into his arms. He was a little larger than Jesse, but a bigger teddy-bear.

I got to know Doc when I was thirteen, and he immediately became a friend. He helped us out a lot over the years, and we've helped him. We consider him a close family friend because he's someone who would never turn his back on us. In fact, Jesse said if anything ever happened to him, he would want Doc to take care of me.

"I'm good," I replied simply and he sighed, looking around the apartment.

"This is a nice place you got here. Why are you leaving?" He turned to Jesse and asked.

"Need a change in scenery," He paused, "And jobs."

"Not wanting to deal anymore?" Doc had made himself comfortable on our sofa.

"We just want something better. Especially for Van," I smiled and sat down next to Jesse.

"Where you guys headed to?" Doc placed his feet up on the coffee table, making himself comfortable.

"Huntington. We got jobs at Johnny's. This way I can watch her better so nothing happens to her," Jesse claimed and I rolled my eyes. Doc laughed at this and shrugged.

"Well, I'll miss you guys. I'll come up and visit one day. Who knows, maybe I'll make some good sales," He winked before standing up, "I'm going to head out. Got some drop offs near the pier for some big spenders. I'll catch you later," He smiled. I sighed and stood up, wrapping my arms around Doc's middle, "Stay safe, Van. You and Jess need each other," He whispered before letting go and man-hugging Jesse before walking out of the apartment.

"We should get packing," Jesse said softly and I nodded. I made my way towards my small room and looked around. I had a small bed, which would be left behind. A few trinkets I had collected from my travels, a few pictures and posters thumb-tacked to the wall, and a dresser with clothes.

I started with my walls. I grabbed a box from the kitchen and set it on my bed before going to work. I carefully took out the tacks in each corner of the pictures and posters, placing them in a zip-lock baggy. I glanced through the pictures as I put them in the box. A few were of me and Jesse, some others of friends we had met, and a few postcards with California scenery. My posters weren't much. Just a few local bands that weren't famous, and probably never will be.

Finally, after packing up the box, I reached under the bed for the wooden box I owned. It was my box filled with things I would never want to lose. It had my birth certificate, so I always know where I come from, pictures of me as a baby, pictures of me and Jesse, and a necklace that was given to me by my birth parents before I was in foster care.

The necklace was beautiful. Out of fear of losing it or having it stolen, I never wore it out of the house. In fact, I never wore it at all really. It was a silver chain with a small pendant with my birthstone, Amethyst, and a few diamonds around it. On the back of the pendant it was engraved with the words Our Miracle. The pendant was small, so the words weren't easy to read, but manageable. It was the most precious thing I owned. It made me feel special, because it made me feel like someone besides Jesse cared about me.

I vaguely remember my parents. However, there are somethings that I remember as if they happened yesterday. When I think of my mother, it's as if I can feel her caress at that moment. I can feel her hand running through my hair softly. When I think of my father, I can remember his hands. I can remember how rough they were, but soft. He was a musician, I know that, with worn hands of melodies and harmonies. They were strong, and held mine tight as if he never wanted to let go.

"How's it going in here?" Jesse asked and I shrugged.

"Just going through some stuff," He looked over and saw the necklace in my hands. He sighed and walked over.

"Think about your parents?" He asked, though he knew the answer. I nodded slowly and he sat down next to me. He took the necklace in his hand, twirling it in his fingers, "They're out there somewhere, Van. One day, you'll see them again and they'll cry tears of joy to have you in their arms," He said.

"I'm not a child anymore, Jesse. You can't trick me with fairy tales," I said and he gave a slight chuckle.

"Maybe it's not a fairytale," He shrugged just before his phone rang. He grabbed it out of his pocket and answered, "Hello?" A pause. I could hear the soft mumbling of someone on the other line, talking very fast. Jesse's eyes went wide and he looked to me, "You sure?" He questioned and more mumbling, "Alright. I'll get out of here. What about you?" A pause before a voice mumbled slowly and Jesse shook his head, "Take care man."

He hung up the phone before standing up quickly, "Get everything together now. We need to leave right now," He said firmly before running back to his room and grabbing a few of his bags and shoving his clothes inside.

I grabbed my bag, shoving my own clothes before grabbing my wooden box and shoving it inside as well. I hid my necklace safe before grabbing the small box with my pictures and walking out to the living room, where Jesse was grabbing important papers and necessities from from living room and kitchen, "Jesse, what the hell is going on?" I asked, but remained silent, focusing on leaving quickly.

"Let's go," He opened the door and I followed down the flight of stairs to the parking lot. He unlocked the car and put our stuff in the back quickly before getting inside. I sat in the passenger seat and he turned on the car, quickly backing out of the parking space. I turned around to look back at my old home, when I noticed four men kicking our door open and running inside.

"What's going on!?" I yelled and Jesse sped off, heading straight towards the freeway. He remained silent as I panicked, "Jesse! Who were those people!" I yelled, turning in my seat to look at him. He shook his head and accelerated faster.

"We should have left sooner. I should have gotten out faster," He murmured softly.

"Jesse!" I yelled and he turned to me.

"Doc was ambushed at the pier," He said softly and I gasped.

"He's alright, right?" I asked and he nodded.

"He's headed up North to Monterey to stay with some friends," He explained.

"How does this involve us?" I questioned.

"They're targeting everyone that's involved with dealing from him. Tye and Alex were already killed," He said in a whisper. We didn't know Tye and Alex very well. They were twins from the south who both held thick southern accents. They had moved to California to attend UC San Diego, but got involved in the business. We had met a couple times, due to dealing with Doc, but never became more than acquaintances.

"Who's doing this?" I had dared asked.

"Some dealers from the other side of town. One of Doc's dealers sold out of territory, stealing business. He was caught and now we're all paying for it."

"Who was dealing on the other side of town?" I wondered.

"Doc doesn't know who, but warned every to get out of town. They're going down a list, targeting everyone Doc has relations with and butchering them."

I sat in silence. Sure, Jesse and I have been through a lot of tough shit, but this was different. If we weren't going to get killed before, we were now. This didn't seem real. It seemed like nothing could ever happen to Jesse and me.

I was afraid to fall asleep in the car and Jesse was afraid to stop it. He was low on gas, but didn't want to stop until we were in Huntington. Thankfully for us, the gang that had killed our dealers was still scanning the San Diego area. We had some connections that were monitoring where they were, which helped us a lot. Jesse frequently got texts from them so he would know we were safe. There's about twenty people on their hit-list and once they've been through it all, hopefully they'll stay in San Diego and not bothering to search for us.

Finally, after a two and a half hour drive, we were within the city. We drove along PCH, getting a full view of the ocean I had missed so much. This city meant everything to me, although I wasn't here very long before. It still meant something, I connected with it. We clicked.

"Where's this apartment?" I asked Jesse, who was fixated at not falling asleep at the wheel.

"Near the beach, but it isn't ready yet. The people before are still moving out, because they thought we would be there in a couple weeks," He explained.

"So where are we going to stay? Central Park?" I questioned and he shook his head.

"My friends Matt and Jason, they got us the jobs at Johnny's, are letting us crash at their place for a while. It's pretty nice and has a lot of room, so we should be fine until we're ready to move in," Jesse told me as we turned off PCH and onto Main. It wasn't long before we were in a complex of luxurious condos.

Jesse parked in the visitors parking and popped the trunk to get our stuff. I left my box of posters and such inside the car, as they were no use in a home that wasn't ours. I quickly grabbed the necklace and placed it safely in my pocket before following Jesse to an elevator.

The condo was on the top floor with a magnificent view of the beach. It was pretty far, as we weren't near enough to hear the calming waves crash against the sand, but at least we could still see it. Jesse knocked on the door and I stood slightly behind him, waiting for his mysterious friends to open up, "Jesse!" A man exclaimed, he was tall, well built, had slightly long hair, and had tattoos.

"What's up, Jason?" Him and Jesse embraced in a man-hug, "Thanks for doing this for us," Jesse thanked and Jason shook his head.

"No problem! Any friend who is being chased down by drug lords is okay to stay here," His smile was amusing and wild.

We stepped inside to smell something good cooking. Jason motioned us to set our bags down in the hallway. We followed Jason into what looked like a kitchen to see two other guys and a girl. The girl was blond and beautiful with a diamond piercing above the corner of her lip. She was at the stove, stirring something in a pot that smelled delicious.

"Matt!" Jesse exclaimed and one of the guys, taller with a little facial hair. He had the same smile as Jason, but shorter hair. He also had a few tattoos and his eyes danced with delight.

"Jesse!" And again with the greetings. I stood there until Jesse put an arm around me and smiled.

"This is Van. My little sister," He introduced and I smiled with a slight wave.

"I didn't know you had a sister. I'm Matt," He held out his hand to me and I shook it.

"Well, we met when she was just twelve and stuck together ever since," Jesse shrugged and I smiled again.

"Jesse's family is our family. I'm Jason. This is Zacky and Gena," He pointed to the others that had yet to be named. The girl, who looked like a model, smiled at me from the stove and Zacky gave a slight smile.

When my eyes met Zacky's something caught in my throat. They were familiar, and I knew why. He was one of the guys sitting at the diner last night, "Van was your name?" He asked and I nodded. I looked to Jesse, who didn't seem to know that this person was friends with the two men who were staring me down, "You look familiar. What's your last name?" He asked again.

"Oh, I don't really know," I lied, "I grew up in foster care." I knew my last name, but if this guy was related to those two from yesterday, I didn't want to give him my precious information.

"You just really look familiar. Is Van short for Vanessa?" He asked and I shook my head.

"Just Van," I lied once again, almost. Vanessa was not my name, but Van wasn't my full name either.

Zacky asked no more questions as we were invited to the table to sit and eat. I ate in silence, besides answering a few questions from Gena. Jesse discussed his situation and what he's been up to with Jason and Matt.

Zacky just stared at me.