So the question is, who has Alysia Lockheart screwed over?

Alysia groaned at the stupid question that Nathan had asked her. She hadn't exactly screwed anyone over. At least, she didn't think she had.

Instead of sleeping, she'd mulled the question over in her head, scouring her memory as she tossed and turned on the couch. She had just started to fall asleep again when she heard the trapdoor to the base open. Alysia groaned in complaint as the lights were turned on, covering her face with a pillow.

Cold air pressed against Alysia's skin as the fuzzy blanket from her apartment, along with the pillow under her head, were snatched from her. Alysia let out a hiss of annoyance. She narrowed her eyes at Nathan, grabbing the other pillow, and throwing it at him.

Nathan caught the pillow as it bounced off his torso, giving her an unimpressed look. "Get up. We have things to do. We need to come up with a list of suspects." When Alysia didn't move, he pulled her up by the arm.

"Seriously?" Alysia glanced at the analog clock, groaning when she saw the time, the neon numbers glaring at her. "It's so early, what the hell?" She exclaimed.

Before Alysia could complain anymore, Nathan stuffed something in her open mouth. "Here. Have a donut. And it's ten, that's not early."

She took a bite of the glazed donut, before pulling it out of her mouth. She gave Nathan an unimpressed look, taking another bite of donut. "That was unnecessary."

"Donuts are never unnecessary." Nathan grabbed a donut from the box, and taking a bite out of it. "Now, go get ready or whatever, we have a lot to do today. There's coffee on the table for when you come back." He mumbled with his mouth full, crumbs spraying down his shirt.

Alysia stuffed the rest of her donut, muttering profanities under her breath as she made her way to the bathroom. She hadn't woken up this early since April had forced her to go on a road trip with her in spring break during their freshman year.

Alysia got ready, hastily throwing her hair into a messy bun. Grabbing her toothbrush, she squeezed a dollop of toothpaste onto it, and stuck it in her mouth. When she was done, she walked out of the bathroom, walking over to Nathan, who was already at the computer.

She wrapped her hand around the cup of coffee, slightly recoiling at the warm touch before picking it up. She took a sip, slightly smiling when the acidic burn of bitter black coffee hit her taste buds. "Thanks for the coffee. You got my order right."

Nathan let out a hum of acknowledgment, turning his chair to face her. He still had donut crumbs down his front, but he didn't seem to care. "So, do you have any idea as to whom Frostbite could be?"

"Nope. Can't think of anyone."

"You didn't ruin anybody's life, did you?" Nathan inquired, the image from the screen reflected in his eyes. "Were you one of those classic mean girls that you see in the movies?" Noticing the face Alysia gave him, he shrugged. "I went to an all-boys private school. I don't know how teenage girl-drama works."

Alysia scoffed, taking another sip of coffee. Of course Nathan Carstairs had gone to private school. "No, I wasn't one of the mean girls. I mean, I guess I was popular, but only because I was mean to the mean girls. And those girls don't have the guts to commit murder. Plus, according to Stella, Frostbite is a guy."

"Any ex-boyfriends that don't like you? Any guys you told no, and have a bone to pick?" Nathan probed.

Alysia shrugged, "I dated one guy freshman year of college, and we ended on kind of bad terms, but I don't think he'd resort to murder."

"Name?" Nath inquired, placing his fingers on the computer keyboard, ready to type.

Alysia hesitated, "Everett Harvardson."

Nathan's nose scrunched up in disgust. "Everett Harvardson? Like the one related to the Luddingtons?"

Alysia nodded. "Yeah. Unfortunately, it is that one." Alysia grabbed another donut from the box, biting into it as Nathan typed the name into a document. Chocolate and custard burst in her mouth as she sunk her teeth into the pastry. Boston Crème, her favorite.

"Any other ones?"

Alysia shrugged, taking a few more bites of the delicious donut, and licking the chocolate off her fingertips. "Not that I can think of." She mumbled around the donut. "Unless you count my boyfriend from the second grade. I kind of broke his tiny little heart back then. Maybe he was too traumatized to ever love again."

Nathan shook his head, an amused smile creeping onto his face. Crease lines near his eyes appeared, something she'd never noticed before. "Oh, don't smile, Carstairs. People may think you actually have a heart!" Alysia exclaimed, fake concern dripping off of her voice.

"Oh shut it, Lockheart." Nathan's serious expression returned once again. "Your terrible choice in men aside, what about any family enemies?"

Alysia opened her mouth, before closing it again. No one knew her father's true identity, other than her and Benjamin Grey. But he didn't even know that Henry Lockheart was in the hospital, a machine breathing for him. As far as Ben was concerned, her father had died in the battle that actually put him into a coma.

She didn't trust Nathan enough to tell him that her father was the legendary Inferno, the hero who had represented justice, who had been loved by all of Ziren City, and who had died saving everyone.

"Not that I know of." She finally replied after a moment of silence. "I'm nice to everyone."

Nathan gave her a strange look, most likely at her hesitation to answer the question. "Are you not sure?" Nathan held his own coffee cup to his lips, taking a sip while maintaining eye contact with her.

"My dad and I didn't, don't-," she corrected herself, "-really get along. He wasn't around a lot, and when he was, he was kind of a dick. And I'm not in contact with anyone else related to me. So I don't really know a lot of his enemies."

"What about your mom? Does she have any enemies?" Nathan inquired, placing his cup down, on the table, catching it easily when it almost tipped over. He looked at her expectantly when she didn't respond at first.

"My mom," she hesitated, "passed a while ago. About ten years ago. But she wasn't the type to have any enemies, she was one of the nicest people you could ever meet." Alysia said, taking another sip of her coffee when she felt her throat close up. Her eyes burned, but she swallowed hard.

Nathan looked surprised at her response, eyes slightly wider than before, his hand frozen around his cup of coffee. "Oh. I'm sorry for your loss."

Alysia lowered her gaze, one hand playing with her necklace, before meeting his eyes once more. "It wasn't your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"How did she die? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

She sighed when she saw the sympathetic look in Nathan's eyes, an emotion he didn't usually show. "It was an accident. She took a fall down the stairs, hit her head pretty bad. I found her bleeding out, and when we arrived at the hospital, they said that the brain damage was irreversible. She was brain-dead." Alysia blinked hard, forcing herself not to cry. She inhaled deeply before continuing, a lump of emotion building in her throat. "We- my dad, pulled the plug soon after."

"No one should have to go through that. Especially not someone who was as young as you were back then." Nathan commented, keeping his crystal blue eyes on her. Genuine emotion glittered in them, sympathy, and maybe a little pity.

"Yeah. I know. But it was a long time ago. I'm okay now." she lied.

What Alysia didn't tell him was about the shouting she had heard before her mother had fallen.

What Alysia didn't tell him was that her mother's death was no accident, no whim of cruel fate, or karmic vengeance.

What Alysia didn't tell him was that her father was the one who had pushed her mother down the stairs. 

Um, so guess who forgot to update for two weeks again? Definitely not me. Could never be me. I don't know what you're talking about. But my updates might not be as punctual anymore, because of school, but when I update it'll always be on Fridays!

So what are your thoughts about this chapter? Don't forget to vote, comment, and share!

Anyways on to question of the day! Credit to thehockeybee for this one!

QOTD: What's your favorite kind of muffin?

Mine would probably either be chocolate chip or blueberry! (Kinda basic, but I love them).