Avia was up in her room, going over the small conversation she had with her parents when she went downstairs. The words, Give it your all, or none at all, still ringing in her mind. Her parents had acted like they had known nothing about the box. Either it was a cover, or they honestly had no clue.

A second later, she heard a voice.

"Come downstairs, lunch is ready," that voice called. She recognized that it was her mother, and went downstairs. Her mom and dad were sitting at the table, eating sandwiches, and there was one saving her seat at the table.

"Sit down, you need to eat you lunch," Scott said, realizing that Avia was just about to make a mad dash to her room, the plate and sandwich in hand.

Avia sat down at the table.

"So, what have you been doing upstairs all day, besides homework?" Sandra asked.

"Nothing, I have only been doing homework," Avia lied. If she wanted her parents talk about the gift, she wanted them to bring it up themselves.

"So, we were wondering, what do you want to do tonight? It is your birthday after all, or, tomorrow, that is," Scott asked.

"I don't know, I will have to think about it, but I can let you know soon," Avia said. The Swan's had a tradition that whenever it was one of their birthdays, the day before, that person would choose something fun to do. Then they would go out to eat afterwards.

Avia soon finished her sandwich, and decided to take Lilly, and the other dogs, for a walk. After Lilly had given birth to a litter of 6, thing were different in the house. They had sold all but 2 of the puppies. They had grown now, and it was Avia's responsibility to take care of them. This meant taking them for walks every day. She grabbed her phone and earbuds, turned on her favorite playlist, and left. The piercingly cold December air nipped at her face, but Avia didn't mind. The cold had never bothered her anyway. Coincidentally, Let It Go had turned on, and started playing first. She set it o repeat, and started walking. Her route was about 6 miles, so it took about an hour each time she walked it. She just needed a breath of fresh air, and by taking her dogs out, she was killing two birds with one stone. She started humming to herself as she walked through the local park in her neighborhood. When she can be alone, outside, especially when it is the winter, Avia felt like she was free, escaping from her parents grasp. She felt like there was nothing in the world that she couldn't do. She continued walking, now softly singing to herself, where nobody else could hear. She would never say it out loud, but she had really wanted to join the school choir. she had gone to all of their concerts, an she thought that it was amazing how well they harmonize, keep the beat, and always hit the right notes. She continued along the path.

Back at the house, it was chaos.

"Why didn't we bring up the present we had left her. I can tell she is avoiding us, and this didn't happen before we told her," Sandra said.

"I bet it is just a lot to take in, and she just needs some time to think about it," Scott said in reply. He tried not to show it for Sandra's sake, but he was worried that Avia might never walk through that door again. His prayers were answered when the door opened. Three Husky dogs ran in, dragging Avia behind them.

"The first part of the walk was okay," Avia said. "Then the dogs spotted a squirrel, and chaos ensued."

"Well, now that you are home, there is something your father and I need to discuss. Sit at the island with your father," Sandra told Avia. She could tell that they were probably going to talk about the gift they had left at her door. They started out the conversation, explaining,in a little more detail, the note that was in the box. Avia again, started to wonder what would have happened if the hadn't given her up. In the middle of it all se burst into tears. She just couldn't take the information in a second time, especially when they were digging a little bit deeper than before. She ran up to her room. Sandra had started to follow her up the stairs, but Scott held her back.

"Honey, obviously, if she wants to be alone, and not talk about this, than we shouldn't talk about this, and give her some space," Scott said, knowing that it was the only thing that could possibly keep her from following Avia. They both went into the living room, and started watching TV.

Up in her room, Avia was in peices, and she did know if she could put herself back together. She just wanted to put this whole thing behind her, and never look back. She felt as bad as she had been when she was given back the orphanage that last time. Avia was surprised to realize that her parents hadn't come in to comfort her yet. She was glad, She just wanted to be alone for a while. Avia fell asleep, and didn't leave her room until the next morning.