A lot happened in three three years. Fall Out Boy was pretty successful and went on a tour or two. Declan, Saint, and Ruby pretty much grew up together. They were put in the same preschool so on the first day they weren't that scared. Declan held tightly to his colorful backpack.

"I don't wanna go," he said. I made sure to put on his tiny head a fedora. He was like a small Patrick.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Cause it scawy," he said. He wasn't 100% perfect with the english language yet. "What if they don't like me?"

I bit my lip. How do you explain something like that to a three year old?

"What are you talking about? You're the coolest kid around. They are gonna like you. And if they don't, then forget them. We like you and you like yourself and that's all that matters."

He didn't seem very convinced. I leaned in and whispered, "Ruby's gonna be there." No one knew it, but Declan had a small crush on Ruby. He seemed reluctant, but agreed.

"Saint is gonan be there," I said, louder.

"Okay. I'll go," Declan said. Elisa smiled through the rear view mirror. She said she loved me because I was a "caring and loving" big sister.

When we got to the small preschool, Declan hopped off the mini van. Elisa said she'd go look for parking. I went inside where a lot of toddlers ran around. There was a small boy crying to a woman in the corner, probably his mother, and a teacher with a clipboard. I guess that's where you signed in.

Joe and Marie entered the building with Ruby holding their hands. She wore a blue dress and her hair in pigtails. "Hey Declan!" She shouted and ran up to him. She gave him a hug and Declan looked paniced at the show of physical contact. He was frozen for a moment and I cleared my throat and nudged him. He blinked and timidly said hello back.

Saint entered right behind them, strolling like a cool kid in his dinosaurs t-shirt. His  mother walked in behind him, looking as beautiful as ever. I wondered if there was a moment she didn't look gorgeous.

"Declan," he said running to him. "Hello Ruby," he said politely, nodding to her before turning back to Declan. "Isn't this so awesome?  Look, there's a truck over there. A firetruck, like the one we saw that day, remember?  Let's go play with it! You can come too Ruby, but it's boy toys, not girl toys."

"I know! Let's play that you guys are firefighters that are going to rescue Barbie," she said.

"Yeah, let's do that," Declan said.

"No! That's girly," Saint said.

"And what's wrong with girly?" His mother reproached him.

"Nothing," he said.

"That's what I thought because," she prompted.

"Girls and boys are equal," he said, sounding a little annoyed.

She nodded and Elisa came in with a smile. "Time to sign in?"

The parents took turns signing in the kids and the kids took turns with the fire truck. I stood around, looking at the little kids who were ready to  enter the world. I was ready to exit the world. Or just this life.

We waved goodbye to the kids as the bell rang. I got in the car with Elisa and asked, "He grew up fast, hu?"

"Yeah. Just yesterday I was changing his diapers, " she said, ruffling her hair.

Anyways nothing really important happened until that summer. It was 2018 summer, what I call the happy summer. Declan and I were walking to the store for some healthy snack. That's the lie I told Elisa. In reality, we were going to the store to buy some chips and soda. Then we would go to the park and watch kids ride their skateboard at the skatepark. We were walking towards the park. I was holding his hand and were walking the empty sidewalk. A car was speeding down the street and I guess he was out of control and the car was coming towards us. I didn't notice it until it was right in front of us. I pushed Declan out of the way, far from impact. But hesitated about moving. In that split second I asked myself, 'Is this finally it?' I wouldn't have moved if I hadn't heard Declan cry my name. I threw myself out of the way and the car hit my foot a little. I fell down hard on my arm and it was painful.

"Cora!" Declan cried, and fell down next to me. I was in a lot of pain (or maybe I'm really sensitive) but I managed to say, "Call 911, okay? Here's my phone, dial it for me. Everything is gonna be okay. I'm okay and you're okay."

He dialed the police/ambulance for me and using the arm that wasn't in pain I held it to my ear.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Um, a car just crashed into the sidewalk. He nearly hit my brother and I. We need an ambulance. I think I hurt my arm and I'm not sure about the guy in the car."

The ambulance was there quickly. A nice paramedic kept Declan company and distracted him from the problem. Another paramedic checked my arm and put one of those shock blankets over me.

"I think your arm is broken," he said.

No shit, Sherlock. "Yeah, it definitely feels like it."

"We'll need to take you to the hospital to get it checked."

I looked at the destroyed car. They were taking the man out of it. He looked in his late 40s and was bleeding from his forehead. I worried for him, but not too much. Declan rushed to my side.

"Are you okay, Cora?" He asked. No, I'm in a ton of pain.

"Just hurt a little. I might get a cast. You know, like the one Joey had. What color shoud I get?" I asked him, trying to distract him.

"Blue. Blue is a good color."

"I'll get it blue. Once it's done, I'll let you decorate it. The whole cast to yourself. You could draw on it, or write on it."

"I don't know to to write," he said sadly.

"I'll write it for you then. It'll be fun."

"Yeah," he said. A nurse helped him onto the ambulance and we were driven to the hospital.

A waved goodbye to Declan as I was taken to an x-ray room. After the things were taken, a doctor, Mr. Neilson, told me, "It's definitely broken. We'll have to put a cast. Any color you want?"

"Blue is fine," I said, though I wanted red.

When they finished putting the cast, I was left alone in the room. I wondered to myself why I didn't move. I guessed it was because I knew the outcome. Elisa would be mad at me. I nearly killed her son. Patrick would be disappointed. I had fears earlier before that they were but if they weren't already, they were going to be now.

I fought back tears as I looked bummly at the stupid cast I had on. Elisa burst into the room, in tears, and hugged me. "Are you okay?" She asked, looking me over. She held me tightly. "What happened?" She didn't know. When she knew she wasn't going to be happy. I burst into tears and she held me repeating,  "It's okay, it's okay," but it really wasn't.  I had nearly killed Declan. I was not responsible and could've brought so much tragedy to the now whole family. Imagine you adopt a kid to fill the void that you were missing and then you had a kid. Then the adopted one nearly kills him.

Elisa thought I was crying over what happened, but I wasn't. They were gonna hate me. Ignore me more than ever. Maybe even take me back to the orphanage. Was that possible?

Elisa drove us home as Declan described to her what happened.

"We were walking and this car zoomed toward us! It was making a loud sound like vroom. He was heading right for us! And then, Cora pushed me, but she didn't move. I think she was scared. Were you scared, Cora? Yeah, she was. Then she moved and the car almost hit her, but it didn't. And then this nice lady, I think her name was Linda, told me a story about race cars. At the hospital, there was this other nice lady who gave me crayons and I drew this, mommy," he held up a childish drawing of a race car.

Patrick was on tour. I went upstairs with the excuse of being tired and laid in bed until early morning. I fell asleep at like 3am. When I woke up, Patrick was at my side. "Hey," he said kindly. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. Aren't you supposed to be on tour?" I asked too coldly.

He noticed this and said, "Yeah, but I heard and flew over here immediately."

"You shouldn't have done that. I'm fine. Thanks for coming either way," I said.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. So many times I wanted to yell it at them, him especially.

"Everything, Patrick. You obviously adopted me because you wanted a kid and then Declan was born and now you have a kid. So, take me back to the orphanage or something."

"Why would I do that?" He asked.

"Because I'm a shit daughter! I'm too much trouble. I have daddy issues and I have too much feelings and you deserve something better, Patrick. You deserve a family that doesn't include a disappointment of a daughter!" I was in tears. That's what was bothering me. I felt like a disappointment. Just another image of my mother. But I wasn't a disappointing mother, I was a disappointing daughter.

I was waiting for him to agree or say something but he didn't. He looked just worried as he did that one night so long ago when I had the nightmare of my mother and he was there, holding me even though he didn't understand.

"Cora," he said quietly. "You're not a disappointment. You're the best daughter I could ever have. You're still dealing with your dad issues and that's totally normal. Everyone has their issues. Listen to me, I love you and you've never been a disappointment and never will be. Understand? You'll never disappoint me."

I cried even harder. "Thank you" I managed to say in between my sobs.

"I love you, Cora. You'll never disappoint me." he said, stroking my hair every so often. I cried even harder.

He let me for a little longer until he said, "Come on, don't cry. Sad times are over. Let's go have fun," he said. I sniffled and gave him a smile. He let me get dressed and then told me to pack some stuff.

"Why?" I asked.

He winked. "Surprise," was all he let slide.

I packed some stuff for the summer, like shorts, and went downstairs where Declan and Elisa sat. Declan was on Elisa's lap where she talked to him. Their suitcases were on the floor. "Cora!" Declan shouted happily and jumped off Elisa's lap. He hugged me and said, "How you feeling?"

"Great. I think pretty soon we'll be able to have our painting sessions again," I said.

I heard a bark and saw Tyson run towards me. He grew up to be a big Saint Bernard. His paws landed on top of me and he was licking me. "Missed you too, buddy."

Patrick came down the stairs with a suitcase. "Are you all ready?"

"Yeah!" We all  said.

"Where are we going, daddy?" Declan asked.

"Disneyland," he said.

We all cheered. We were on the car ride to the airport when I asked, "Hey, weren't we supposed to go to Disney land the day after you adopted me?"

"Yeah, I think so," he said. He laughed.

We didn't get to Disney Land until the next day. Declan and I were like two excited squirrels, jumping up and down at the entrance. Declan wanted to go to the teacups. "Let's go, let's go," he said, pulling us along. "Faster, faster. We're not going to get there."

We went on a few other rides, taking pictures and making jokes as we went. I had to admit, Disney Land is the happiest place on earth. I was happy. We were dog tired by lunch. We had burgers. Well, Declan and I did. Elisa and Patrick had salad.

"You enjoying yourselves?" Elisa asked Declan and I.

Declan  nodded, chewing his burger while kicking his feet.

"Yes, very much," I said.

We left the park with mouse ears hats and lots of memories. I felt  . . .  Pretty content. It was diffrent to be this content. But I liked it. We were staying in the LA house. Patrick and Elisa were tired after the day and wanted to take a nap.

I felt my phone buzz. It was a text from Jessica. I smiled and opened to see what she was saying.

Jessica: I see you're in California again

Cora: Yeah, we were at Disnyeland

Jessica: Do you wanna come over? I'm pretty sure I could convince my parents to have you over for a few hours

Cora: Woah, woah, woah, hold up. You got adopted???

Jessica: Yes! Like a month ago. Sorry I didn't tell you, I've been very busy this month with stuff.

Cora: Congrats!  Are they nice? How are you feeling about them? Do they have other kids?

Jessica: How about I answer the questions when you get over here?

Cora: Deal. Let me find transportation over there.

Elisa was still awake, tucking Declan in, even though it was 7 pm. "Hey, Elisa, can you drive me over to 6th street? It's like five minutes from here. I wanna go visit Jessica, a friend from the orphanage. She got adopted recently."

"Sure," she said. She kissed Declan's cheek and said, "I'll be back soon. Don't you move mister. We still have a story to read."

Declan saluted her and said, "Yes, mommy!"

She smiled and closed the door. I grabbed my bag and jumped on the car. I put in Of Mice & Men's The Flood got nostalgic when when you can't sleep at night played. I couldn't help but look at myself in the mirror and see how different I was from the 10 year old who was nervous about getting adopted. Sure, we looked the same. Sort of. Puberty was done with me and the Cora that puberty left wasn't too shabby. But I couldn't help but recognize that Cora from ten years ago looked the same as Cora from now. We might've looked the same, but we felt so different. But I knew I wouldn't forget the old Cora and her life. She was still me, deep down. But the new Cora wasn't going to let her rise up again. Anyways, we weren't very different.  I was wise, happy, and confidential.  Something the old Cora couldn't say.

Anyways, Elisa looked at the house that Jessica lived in. "Is this the adress?" She asked.

"Yep," I said, jumping off the car. "Thanks for the ride. Jessica's parents could take me home."

"Alright," she said. She gestured me to approach her, which I did, and she kissed my forehead. "I want you home by nine."

"When your eyes are the size of the moon?"

"What? No. How is that even possible?"

I laughed. "Nevermind. I'll be home in time. Love you, mom," I quickly said the last part. I never really called her mom.

"Love you too, Cora."

Jessica opened the door and nearly tackled me to the floor. "Ow," I said. "Arm. Arm. Keep in mind the arm."

"Right," she said, balancing me out. I looked her up and down. She was nearly 18. Her blonde hair was long. She didn't wear a band shirt or fandom shirt or short shorts. She wore jeans and a shirt promoting a high school's drama club.

"You've changed so much!" I said.

"I know. I feel changed. You've changed a lot, too. Grown up alot. Still not as tall as me though."

I stuck my tongue out. She looked behind me and waved to Elisa. "Hello, Mrs. Stump. My name is Jessica," she shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Jessica. Can I trust you to keep Cora under control for a while? She can be a handful," Elisa said jokingly.

"Hey," I protested.

"Sure you can. I'll make sure she stays out of trouble. Can she sleep over?"

Elisa and I were both taken by surprise. "S-sure. I'll pick her up tomorrow morning at 8."

"Great, thank you so much. It was nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you too, Jessica."

She waved and drove away. "C'mon, you've gotta meet my dads."

Dads? She pulled me into her house. I was greeted by a small cozy living room. There was a fish up on the wall. You know, like those decorations that people put. There was some pictures too. I saw one of two men on fishing on a pier and of a bull dog and in the middle of the two was one of Jessica smiling.

"Jessica? Is your friend here?" A deep male voice asked.

"Yeah," Jessica called out.

Out came two men from the kitchen. One was short with dark hair and the other was tall with an brown beard. The short one came up to me and stretched out his hand. "Cora, nice to meet you. We've heard a lot about you. My name is Doug." I said a nice to meet you and the tall one shook my hand.

"My name is Frank. If you need anything, don't hesitate to tell us," he said. I smiled. They were so nice.

"Thank you, Mr." I said, unsure what his last name was.

"Oh please, call me Frank. We're all friends here. And that'd be a little confusing since we have the same last name," we laughed.

"Cora and I are going upstairs to talk if that's okay," Jessica said.

"Go for it," Doug said. "Dinner will be ready soon."

We went upstairs and the first thing she asked me was, "What happened to your arm?" I explained in brief details. "Oh, sorry to hear that hun."

"Yeah. Hey, what happened to Logan? He never replied to my texts after a while."

"Oh, he got adopted like three years ago. A nice couple from Illinois. They adopted him and moved him over there. We lost contact after that. Never replied to anything."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said sadly.

We were bummed out after that. But after a few moments of grieving our friend's disconnection from us, we continued to chatter away. I told her of Declan. I mostly talked about Declan. She didn't mind. She ate up every story I told her about him. She told me how the orphanage had more money now so their food wasn't shit anymore.

"Hey, so what do you think of Doug and Frank?" I asked.

"At first, I didn't like them, but they grew on me. They like fishing a lot. Trust me, if they had one last day to live they'd spend half of it fishing." I laughed. "The other half would be a combination of salsa dancing, car work, and Dexter."

"Dexter?"

"A TV show about this serial killer in Miami who kills other serial killers."

"Sounds interesting," I said.

"It is."

We went down to dinner later, it was fish, and then watched scary movies until midnight. We fell asleep catching up on everything that happened in five years. The next morning, I had breakfast with the Henderson family which consisted of Doug, Frank, Jessica and their bulldog, Henry. Henry was a chill dog who loved bacon. They fed him scraps of bacon. Was it healthy? Maybe not, but the Henry really loved it.

Elisa picked me up around 8 as she said. I waved goodbye to the Hendersons and promised to visit them again. I was gonna keep that promise. I got home and Patrick and Declan were making a fruit salad.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked.

"We're cooking a fruit salad."

"Can you cook a bacon salad?" I asked, taking a piece of mango from the salad.

"No," Declan said.

"Okay, I'm not complaining. Did you put apples?"

"Of course," Patrick said.

"Good."

Author's Note:
Hey Guys! Hope you liked the chapter, I was very doubtful on it. I wasn't quite sure if it was the right way to go, but I just went with it. So the story will be ending soon. I'm 99.9% sure the next chapter is going to be the last. I don't think there will be a sequel but I'm not gonna get mushy in this chapter. We'll save that for the last one. So, thank you for reading, please vote and comment, luv you. Have a great day.