*just prepare yourselves for a lot of Lucie and Laura because I'm thinking about their stories now*

Laura was tired, she knew she was tired when Lucie was the one walking in front of her. She hadn't slept much in the past three days. While her friend slept, Laura stayed awake, getting in a few minutes of sleep here in there. So she just leaned up against a tree and rested her eyes. She could fall a minute behind. Lucie was a pretty slow walker anyway. She'd be able to catch up.

When Laura woke up, it was brighter than it had been earlier. She rolled over, keeping her eyes shut. Then they snapped open. "Lucie?!" Laura shouted. "Lucie!" She ran, her feet crunching on the fallen leaves. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no." The blonde clutched her hair in her hands, a nervous habit she'd been doing for as long as she could remember. Trying her best to stay calm , which was not very easily , she continued walking.

After several hours of walking, she found herself in a neighborhood. Well, first she had found herself in a city but she'd just been focused on not letting anything bad happen to her. Gregory had always said that the outside world was dangerous, especially in places called cities. 

Laura had been in Toronto once before, when she was six. It's where she convinced Gregory to get the doll so she could give it to Lucie. She walked down the streets, looking at the houses. She stopped by one that had a Mexican flag on its pole and a Colombian flag in one of the windows. She saw a pick-up truck in the driveway and without really thinking, she hopped into the thankfully empty trunk.

She lay there for a few minutes before she heard the front door to the house close. Next, the car was unlocked and then started. Soon, they were driving. After a little bit more time, the truck stopped.

"I'll see you later, Andy!"

Laura poked her head up out of the trunk, seeing a blonde girl in a revealing baby blue dress hugging a curly, brown haired boy. Laura then watched as the girl who had been driving the truck got out. "Hey, Andy, do you have it?" She asked. This girl had black hair. "No, sorry, it's not gonna arrive till Friday." The brown haired boy Laura assumed to be Andy said. "Alright. Thanks anyway." The black haired girl shrugged.

Andy went back inside and the blonde walked over to the black haired girl. "I have to say, Noelle, I did not think you would be the type to drive a pick-up truck." She said. "It was my dad's awhile back. My mom got it fixed up though." Noelle shrugged and she hopped in. Blonde went around into the passenger's seat. Before Noelle could start the car, Laura quickly hopped out of the truck and went to hide in the bushes.

She watched as the truck backed out and Noelle and blonde girl drove away.

Laura sat there for a moment. She had to trust someone to help her. She couldn't take care of herself, she knew that, as did her empty stomach. She looked up at the house she was outside of now. It had a rainbow flag on it's pole. Slowly, the twelve year old stood up and walked up to the door. After a few seconds of waiting, she knocked.

Then Andy answered the door. "Can I help you, kid?" He asked. "Could I possibly spend the night here maybe? I don't have anywhere to go and I'm hungry." She said it honestly. She didn't have the energy to come up with a lie. "Um...mama, mom?" He turned around and soon two women came into view. One a brunette, the other a redhead. The brunette came up behind Andy.

"Can I help you, sweetie?" She asked and Laura repeated the words she'd said to Andy. "Hm." The brunette thought for a minute. "What did you say your name was?"

"Laura."

"Well hello Laura, I'm July. Uh please- come in. We'll discuss things in a minute." Cautiously, July gestured her in. "Sissy, Ryder, can you come down here?" She called up the stairs and two kids came downstairs. The girl was a strawberry brunette while the boy looked like Andy just with straight hair.

"Who's this?" The girl , Sissy , asked. "Laura. Just..you and your brothers go watch her in the living room." July pointed and she walked upstairs with the redhead woman.

-

"Should we call the police?" Wilma asked. "I don't know. She probably would've asked us to call the police if she wanted that. But it appears that she's gotten away from some sort of...bad situation. Let's call the police, but talk to her first. And hey, if we take her in, it wouldn't be the first time we've found an abandoned child." July placed her hand on the doorknob.

"No, July, Andy and Laura are very different. Andy was just a baby, he had a note. Laura's like what ten-ish? She's clearly traumatized and we don't know what any of her behaviors will be like. She could be dangerous to the kids." Wilma shook her head. "Well, we need to help her somehow."  July opened the door and walked back downstairs, poking her head into the living room. 

Her kids were still alive, good. Laura was sitting there, looking at the ground. Sissy and Andy were looking at their phones while it seemed that Ryder was just downright staring at her.

"Hey so, uh, Laura?" July sat next to the blonde girl. "We're gonna call the police, okay?"

"I'd prefer it if you didn't." Laura stated. "Why is that?" Wilma asked. "Because I just don't want you to. I just need a place to crash for tonight and then I'll leave. No need for you to call the police." Laura crossed her arms. She had a general idea of what the police were and she was pretty sure she wouldn't like them, so she didn't wanna risk it.

July and Wilma looked at one another. "Laura, are you a runaway?" Wilma asked and Laura shrugged. "I guess so. Not sure." Laura really didn't. Was she an escapee or a runaway or both? "Alright, well, it's getting late. Laura, you can stay here and we'll deal with you in the morning, understood?" Wilma said in her firm tone.

"Got it."

So that night Laura slept on the couch. Or, 'slept'. She couldn't sleep much, her mind was racing far too fast. She didn't know if Lucie was okay. Honestly, knowing her, she probably wasn't. And that's what scared Laura.