Lauren's POV

"Where are you going?" George asked as I ran full speed down the street.

"Long story, but your kid's on an airplane and I have to go get her." I said. George gasped and ripped the note Valerie left me out of my hand.

"That's why her bio aunt called her. Not for Val to break the adoption news." George said. "She called Val to invite her to Italy."

"So what should we do? Her flight leaves in thirty minutes!"

George checked the note one more time.

"Lauren, her flight already left." George said.

__________

Valerie's POV

I got my backpack from the plane and looked around at all the signs in Italian. A language I understood. Though English was my first language, I was fluent in Italian, so it was nice to be in a whole other country and understand the language.

I was looking around for a sign with my name on it, but then I realized that it wouldn't be written as "Valerie Salazar-Roland."

It would probably be written as Valerie Rossi.

And I was right. I heard a woman scream, "Valerie!" I turned around and saw my biological aunt, who I've seen pictures of multiple times.

"Ciao!" I said, feeling suddenly socially awkward around my own aunt.

Because she wasn't my aunt. Stephanie was, and she always would be. My aunt squeezed me in a hug and started speaking mad fast Italian in my ear. I understood some of it, like "what do you want to do?" and "are you hungry?" But the rest of it just went through one ear and went out the other.

Because all I wanted to do right now was go home.

_____________

Lauren's POV

The earliest flight to Italy was going to get there at 4:00 AM. Italian time. The next day.

On the bright side, it was boarding in thirty minutes. And I was lucky enough to secure a seat.

Valerie hadn't texted any of us with pictures or an update on where she was. Which was expected, she was probably getting dinner or something with whatever family member she was staying with.

As they announced the boarding, I sighed in relief and found my seat on the wildly uncomfortable plane. I had to get used to it, I was going to be sitting here for the better part of eight hours.

I suddenly got scared. What if something happened to Valerie? What if she lied? What if there was no aunt?

What if she was in another country all alone, and only two people knew? One, if I hadn't told George.

I needed to get to Italy. I needed to find Valerie.

________

Valerie's POV

It was 8:00 AM the next morning. Though, it felt like two in the morning to me because of time zones. I'm never up this late, but I needed to adjust my body for this trip.

I walked into the kitchen of my aunt's house, and I found a note on the counter written in Italian, along with 42 euros, about $50 in American money. I scanned the note and realized that my aunt wasn't home. She went to work and wanted me to explore on my own.

While I appreciated the offer, wasn't it kind of stupid to leave a ten year old alone in another country where all she knows is the language?

I sighed, grabbed my backpack, and headed out into the city. The sun hit my skin and I smiled. Even though all I wanted was to go home, I didn't have flights until Sunday.

I grabbed a cup of hot chocolate from a nearby shop and sat down on a bench, sipping away, watching people on bikes and couples taking selfies and kids running around. Some English, some Italian, even some other languages were sprinkled in there too.

I decided to splurge and rent a bike. Once I payed the fee, I jumped on the bike and got going, riding through the city.

"Valerie!" I heard in the middle of my ride. I jumped off the bike and parked it on a railing, turning around.

Lauren was there.

"Lauren? When did you get here?" I asked, feeling slightly annoyed and relieved at the same time.

"I should be asking you that question. Why are you here?" Lauren asked, sitting down on a bench and motioning for me to join her.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to learn more about where I came from and who I was before all the foster homes and such. I've been wanting to come here since I was a little girl, and I just jumped at the chance. I should've asked first. I'm sorry." I said. Lauren hugged me and said, "You don't need to be sorry, Addie."

"Addie? That's what Reed calls me!" I laughed.

"Yeah, I like it. Do you mind?" Lauren asked, and I smiled. Lauren cleared her throat and said, "Well, what I was saying was...did you think George wouldn't have let you go here if you asked?" I nodded in between tears and said, "Yeah...can we just go home?"

Lauren smiled and held up two airplane tickets. "Where's all your stuff?" she asked. I patted my backpack and said, "I never unpacked."

"Let's go home, then." Lauren said.

Home. I never thought I would consider somewhere "home" ever.

But I guess I was wrong.

AN: Yeah, that Italy trip did not last long. Also, the next few chapters are going to be somewhat evil. What did you expect? Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!