Seeing the city lit up with all the lights as we were landing was quite a sight. It was nearing 8 o'clock in the evening, which was a good thing because it meant that I didn't have to hang around and spend time with my auntie and uncle for very long as I'm sure that they both have work tomorrow.

The flight went by faster than I expected, probably due to the fact that I was dreading the moment we landed, and I had to face my relatives. I wasn't looking forward to the judgmental and disappointed looks I was bound to receive from them all. They will never understand me or my actions, and it's not like I will give them a chance to understand me.

During the flight I came to the conclusion that the best way for me to get away from LA and back to New York was to stay with them for a while, try to play nice and gather up enough of their money to be able to get back and not have to worry about money for a few months. No, I will not be stealing from them, only borrowing.

The plane came to a standstill and all the passengers immediately started unbuckling their seat belts and reaching for their carry-on luggage in the overhead compartments. I decided to wait it all out as I was in no rush to leave. After about 15 minutes of waiting for everyone, the plane was nearly empty and that's when I decided it was time for me to move. I grabbed my backpack that was underneath my seat and made my way out of the plane.

I was so glad that I decided to wear comfy clothes because the plane seats weren't the most comfortable. To add to my misery, there was a big guy sat next to me who kept putting his head on my shoulder as he was falling asleep. I swear at some point he started drooling and muttering about dressed-up penguins in his sleep. So yeah, it wasn't the best 6 hours of my life.

I walked through security, and as usual, it took a bit longer due to the unrecognisable photo in my passport. When the photo was taken, I was 15 and a symbol of innocence. Back then I knew nothing about the world and the unfairness it would bring me. I hated that picture and the girl in it because of her lack of knowledge and naivety.

Thankfully my bags were one of the firsst to appear on the belt in baggage claim. I was getting tired and the lack of sleep on the flight was getting to me; all I wanted to do was get in my pyjamas, curl into a ball and sleep this nightmare off.

I grabbed my bags off the belt and headed towards departures. As I walked through the exit, I immediately saw a big sign that read 'Welcome Amber' held by a couple who I recognised to be my Auntie Olive and Uncle James. Aunt Olive has a huge smile on her face and was bouncing on the spot with excitement; her short wavy chestnut hair framed her freckled face, and her nose was pointed slightly downwards which elongated her face.

Uncle James' buzz cut makes him look tough and unapproachable when standing next to the ball of excitement that is Auntie Olive. However, his much smaller but still noticeable smile, and the way he was trying to calm down his excited wife contradicted my first impression of him.

I started walking towards them and once they noticed me, Aunt Olive dropped the sign and ran towards me at full speed. She came to a stop in front of me and after a second of hesitation, she pulled me into a hug. To say I was surprised was an understatement. I was not expecting for them to be happy about my arrival, especially knowing how my mother told them everything about me, including my addiction.

I awkwardly patted her back, not knowing how to behave in a situation like this. Behind Aunt Olive, I could see Uncle James slowly making his way towards us, still holding the welcome sign in his hand which was now dragging behind him on the floor.

"Oh my god I'm so excited you're here Amber! Let me take a look at you real quick," said Aunt Olive whilst pulling away from our awkward hug. She took a quick scan of my face and body, analysing me quickly. "You've grown into wonderful young woman, just look at you. Last time I saw you, you were still an awkward teenager with braces," she said, chuckling slightly at the memory of me with braces and acne.

"Hi Aunt Olive, it's nice seeing you too. It's been a while," I replied, trying to be polite and get the small talk over and done with.

"Hi Amber! How are you, and how was your flight?" asked Uncle James once he joined us, giving me a quick hug as well.

"Hi uncle, I'm good. The flight wasn't too bad considering the sleeping drooling man I had sitting next to me," I said, really trying to be nice and make the conversation light.

"That's good, but I bet you're tired so let's get moving shall we ladies?" He asked, grabbing my bags which I dropped on the floor beside me when Aunt Olive sprinted at me.

We headed towards the exit of the airport, and during the whole way to the car Aunt Olive would not stop talking. I'm pretty sure she didn't need to breathe in between sentences.

"It's so good to finally have you here, I can't wait for you to see LA and the house, and oh my gosh your room! We didn't do too much to it since we wanted you to decorate it how you'd like, just so you could feel more at home here with us. Your mum told us that you have a tiny room back in New York since you live in an apartment with her but the guest room is quite big so you can have all the space you need to feel comfortable and make it your own. Oh and Dylan is at home waiting for us to get back, and he's really happy that you're here, he'll be showing you around the neighbourhood and campus...,"

"Olive honey, slow down. You are overwhelming the poor girl with too much information," chuckled Uncle James, looking at his wife adoringly. I could clearly see the love he has for Auntie Olive.

"Oh right, sorry Amber I can get a little too eager about things. Whenever I get like this, just tell me and I will try to calm down," Aunt Olive said, looking regretful.

For a slight second, I felt bad that I made things awkward, but the feeling quickly disappeared.

We finally reached their car, put all of my bags in the trunk and left the airport. I sat in the backseat and was really tempted to put my headphones in to drown the chatter between my auntie and uncle, but I didn't want to be rude, considering that they directed some of the conversation towards me.

"Your mother mentioned that she will be sending some of your other things separately, like books and some other decorative things, is that right?" Olive questioned, turning around to face me in the backseat.

"Yeah just a few things I can't live without." I didn't expand more on the conversation, not wanting to talk more than necessary. After a few minutes, my eyes started to close so I leaned my head against the window and drifted off to sleep.

_____________________

The car coming to a stop woke me up from my slumber. It wasn't the most comfortable sleep I had, but I knew I needed a nap before going inside that house and acting like there is nothing wrong with me. This was just for a few weeks and then I would be out of here.

I can do this.

"We're here darling, wake up. Let's just get you settled and then you can go to sleep okay?" asked Aunt Olive while rubbing my knee. The moment her palm touched my leg, I flinched away from her touch. I'm not exactly used to human contact, which I thought was obvious after the awkward hug we had at the airport.

I didn't answer; I just left the car and went to pick up some of the bags that Uncle James didn't manage to take. On the outside, the house looked very cosy and homely. It wasn't extravagant which was what I was expecting, them being lawyers and all. However, it was the opposite; it wasn't small but it wasn't ridiculously large either, it was nicely in-between the two. I'm really used to living in apartments and my friend's hostel rooms where we used to hang out so I haven't been to a house in while. You don't get to see a lot of houses in central New York to be honest.

There was a small front lawn outside of the house and a medium sized driveway leading to the house. The front door was under a little porch and there was a wooden swing on the left-hand side of the front door, which is where I can see myself reading a book on a nice day. When I walked through the front door and into the foyer, first thing I noticed was the smell of delicious food which was spread across the house. It smelled like some sort of curry... hmm maybe Indian takeaway? I didn't even realise I was hungry until now, but I decided to have a look around before having anything to eat.

The house was mainly open-plan, where you could see nearly everything from the living room. The only room which was slightly hidden was the kitchen, and although it had no door, there was an archway leading you to the room which held the mouth-watering smelling food. The living room was relatively big, with two sofas facing a huge flat TV which was mounted onto the wall, right above the matte black fireplace. There was a bookshelf off to the side and a window seat looking out onto the front of the house. The dining room was next to the living room with a big brown table in the middle and 8 chairs around it. It looked like the family like to eat together, otherwise why would they have a table like this? And why was it so big, did they host a lot of dinner parties?

I'm used to eating on the floor of my apartment's living room or on the sofa, since the only table me and my mother had was the coffee table. I remember I often mentioned about getting a bigger apartment, but as usual my mother was too busy for anything. Not like it matters now anyways, since I don't plan on ever living in that place.

"Hey you must be Amber, I'm Dylan. I've got to say, you look much better without the braces and pigtails," the voice coming from behind me pulled me out of my thoughts. As I turn around, I see a guy around my age, with chestnut, wavy short hair that was swept to one side, light brown eyes with a few speckles of green and dimples. There are a few freckles sprinkled over his upper cheeks and nose; they make him look younger and more innocent. However, the smirk that was slowly spreading across his lips was giving away the mischievous nature of his personality.

"At least one of us has had improvement in that area," I replied, not bothering too much to be nice to him, I was way too tired to keep up my façade.

"Ouch, you hurt my feelings and you've only been here for 5 minutes." Dylan replied, feigning hurt whilst holding the palm of his hand on the left side of his chest. He pouted his bottom lip out and started whimpering softly, but his character of a sad boy quickly broke, and his lips turned upwards into a smile.

"Get used to it pretty boy." I said whilst making my way towards the kitchen where Aunt Olive and Uncle James where heating up some food and grabbing plates. Dylan was right behind me.

"I hope you're hungry Amber, food will be ready soon. Dylan, why don't you help Amber with her bags and show her to her room before dinner?" asked Aunt Olive, whilst stirring the food in the pot that she was heating up.

"Yeah sure, come on Amber follow me," Dylan said, facing me and smiling. I followed him back to the foyer where my bags were scattered around the floor. He grabbed 4 and I grabbed the remaining 2 small ones. Yes, it's quite a lot of bags, but since I won't be coming back to my mother's apartment, I packed all the clothes I owned.

I followed Dylan up the stairs and onto the second floor. In the hallway, there were 4 doors which I assumed were for 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. He led me to the door on the far end on the left-hand side and walked in.

First thing I noticed was how white everything was, which quickly brought me back to my hospital room. I will definitely have to have to put some colour into this bedroom; Aunt Olive said I can make it my own, which is great. It was rather cosy though and so much bigger than my bedroom at my mother's apartment, so I couldn't really complain.

"So this is it. You've got an en-suite bathroom and the stairs lead to the attic, but I wouldn't go there if I were you, it's quite creepy," said Dylan as he put all of my bags by the bed. I dropped the ones I was holding as well and sat down on the bed. "So, is it true that you od'ed?"

"How long have you been waiting to ask that question huh?" I asked, looking at him and realising that he looked sheepish whilst waiting for my answer.

"Since the minute I found out you're coming down here, but yeah I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked," said Dylan, turning around and making his way out of the bedroom.

"Yeah it happened just two weeks ago; fun experience really, you should give it a go sometime," I chuckled sarcastically, trying to imagine the boy in front of me doing anything illegal when his parents are lawyers.

"Haha funny, you're a real charmer you know that Amber? Anyways, come down soon, the food is nearly ready and it's the best takeaway in town," said Dylan as he left the room and made his way downstairs to join his parents for dinner.

After Dylan left the room, I finally felt like I could breathe. I've been trying to hide the fact that my body has been craving heroin ever since I stepped onto the plane. I was starting to shake slightly, and I also noticed how my fingers started to itch my wrists and forearms, leaving slightly red marks which I now hid with the sweater I was wearing.

I needed a fix and I needed it soon.

Let's see what awaits Amber in California!

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Until next time xx