"It's ok I'll get you out of this" I whispered, "You're 18 Just Leave" I said, "that's what I did" I pulled out of the hug and looked at her concerned, "I don't turn 18 till October 24th" she sobbed.

"you turned 18 on the 6th of August, Don't worry my birthday wasn't correct either" I smiled,

"Course I did!" She cried sarcastically.

I made Jake get an Uber back to the hotel while Veronica and I went for lunch in some Italian place, I still wasn't hungry but Veronica was starving so I ate for her sake, "so tell me about your life" she said through eating her spaghetti, "obviously you're from Los Angeles cause you've got such an accent" she laughed.

"So apparently I was adopted at the age of like 1 or something like that, I was an airport baby which basically meant I was flown on a plane just to be adopted somewhere else cause no one would adopt me in Kansas" I began. "I was eight when Rebecca was born, ten when Charlie was born and 14 when Jacob was born, my 'parents' are shit heads, my crazy grandmother told me I was adopted on thanksgiving few years back and since then I've been a bitch to my family" I finished, we were nearly finished with her meal by now but I wanted to know her.

"I was about 3 when I got fostered for the first time but as always I was returned just like an unwanted shirt or something I was also flown to California but it was no use so they decided to move me out to North Carolina, I was about 8 when I was certain that I was getting adopted by this couple from Australia but they must have found someone else" she continued,

"You told me you were six when you got adopted" I interrupted her, "I tell that to everyone" she explained, "it makes me seem less... lonely"

"It was the lead up to my 9th birthday that really made me lose hope, I'd been in and out of various group homes and kids at school made fun of me for not having a home or a family. It got to a point where I begged to be moved to another state for one last chance and luckily there was this kids program here in Florida that were willing to take me in, they find desperate couples or singles who want children and of course I didn't end up with anyone but on the close up to my 10th birthday there was an old lady and her son who would come and visit me and let me stay over on weekends that turned into weeks, months and then my dream came true, I had a place to call a home and people to call my family" She smiled as her teary eyes glistened in the light.

"Her sons name was Malcolm and rarely spoke when my mom Mildred was around but when she would leave us alone he would light up my world, he'd become a different person and a few months later he turned 17, he came to me one night and gave me his number he said he needed to go, that I should go with him, he told me it was a dangerous place if I stayed and I did try and go with him but we woke up Mildred and I was forced back into my room while he made an escape. I call him every weekend to see How he's doing, he has life now, he's married and to think if I'd gone with him that night I would have had just as a normal life" she explained, I was shocked by her stories and couldn't believe the messed up childhood she had.

"So what do you know about your birth mother?" I asked changing the subject,

"I know she died at birth cause she was so young, I know her parents gave me up out of love and that I'm from Kansas" she stated finishing her meal. "Dead? Who told you that!?"

"Mildred"

"She's sure as hell not dead" I laughed, "how do you think I knew about you? I mean she's weird but she's not dead" I smiled, it was obvious that she was shocked but I didn't think she would be this shocked. "What?" She whispered,

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to blurt that out so fast" I apologized reaching over and squeezing her hand but she pulled it away as soon as I grazed her,

"I need to go" she said getting up so fast that her chair almost fell over. "Veronica sit back down" I ordered but she continued walking, I paid the bill as fast as I could and ran after her, people stared at me running after what looked like another me.

"You are not leaving me again" I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back,

"Don't you see Vanessa, you got the great life and I got the bad one! You had everything you wanted growing up and I had a lie! I have a mom!" She cried, "and they thought I shouldn't know! I have a sister who shows up out of the blue and demands we immediately become best friends" she said pulling her wrist from my grasp, "not everything is so black and white Vanessa" she shouted,

"Veroni-" I began,

"Just stay away from me" she interrupted.

"You pile of shit" I said as she turned away and began walking, "I'm only here wanted you wanted me to save your ass" I shouted.

"Stop cursing! That's a start" she said before hailing for a taxi but I got one straight after her, I told the driver to follow her car no matter what it takes, so he did.

We must of ended up at her house because she stormed out of the car where an oldish lady was waiting at the door for her, she pushed passed the lady but the she held her back for a minute, she said something to Veronica which forced her to nod in agreement. I paid the driver and waited till the front door was locked and the shutters were down on every window, I thought I should text her but I wasn't sure if her mom had her phone.

I could hear shouting from inside the small vintage cottage house, it seemed like the yellow oozing paint would melt of the walls, there was an old car parked outside the house which had taped up windows and looked abandoned by the owner.

I decided to eavesdrop to find out what the commotion was about, "you never did anything for me except for lying!" Veronica shouted, "this information you're giving me is a lie, to hell your mother is alive and there's no way on shit that you're 18!" Her mom shouted,

"Does anyone know how to not curse!" She shouted but then everything went silent, no door slams or answers, just complete silence. I waited about 20 minutes until there was definitely no sound and there's where I would make my way in, I contemplated just knocking on the front door but that's just dumb. It was a two story cottage and her bedroom would most likely be up there but there was no way up, I peeked through the bleak windows on the first floor, the inside was a boring shade of browns and a bunch of weird technology shaded an ugly grey. There was no sign of anyone downstairs so I came up with an idea.

"Hello? And who are you?" He asked,

"I'm Veronica, your next door neighbor" I lied, "where's Mildred?" He asked worriedly, "Come in" he said looking around outside suspiciously, "no it's fine" I answered, there was no way on earth I was going into his creepy house. "Trust me" he said so I did.

He sat me down in his living room and handed me a cup of coffee, "you listen here little girl, that Mildred is out of her mind, poor child, her son escaped years ago and I hear she's hoarding you" he said quickly, "crazy?" I asked,

"Excuse me if I'm wrong here love but I heard that she's been fostering and adopting children since the late 80s, she had a son of her own and from what I know is that she fell down a flight of stairs once and was never right in the head after that" he explained, I spied my coffee as I took in all the information.

"She's locked me out again, do you have a spare key?" I lied once more,

"No she would never give me a key, do as you usually do" he said.

"Look I need your help" I begged as fake tears began dripping from my eyes, "I don't want the police involved-"

"Too late for that" he interrupted me, "the police have been on your case for years but every time there's a hearing or a court case you always seem to change your mind and I'm always certain she does something to you to change it"

"I gotta go" I said standing up quickly to leave, he ran after me but I escaped faster, I stood outside her house and braced myself, I tried opening the door but there was no use, she locked everything, I hit my foot off the ground and realized something strange, "concrete" I whispered, I glanced to all the other gardens which were filled with grass and plants, "basement" I smiled. I scoured the area for possible drains and voila!

"Hello?" I called through the drain where I could see it didn't have any water at the bottom or possible light, I could hear murmurs of what I was certain was Mildred talking to Veronica, "you cut it close today" she shouted,

"It was a minute" Veronica cried, Mildred was giving out to Her and I needed to get Veronica out, "a week" I barely heard someone say but it made Veronica shriek in anger.

I tried my hardest not to but in but if push came to shove I'd be out in seconds, I trudged back to the hotel that night, explaining to Jake that all went well and that we'd be busy every day that week but that wasn't the truth, everyday from 10-6 I'd sit outside the house, nobody would enter or come out, I sat beside the drain often hearing Veronica call Mildred for something but she never gave her aid, I 'dropped' a rubber ball I found one day down to her and for the next few hours I heard it bouncing off the walls, during the day she would leave the basement and when she did I went into hiding, she mustn't be allowed leave the house.

The 6th day I had enough so I went with my original plan, it took all my courage to knock on the front door but when I did there came no answer for about an hour straight. At the end of the day I watched from a safely hidden bush, a large oldish lady appear from inside the house, she went to the old car and drove off leaving me in the clear, I could break a window but her security would be too high but why would I care? I need to get Veronica out of there. I grabbed a hefty rock and threw it as hard as I could, this time I was careful with the glass.

(Heyo! Thanks for reading and I know it's gotten confusing so just comment any questions u have and btw ignore how old they are😂 it's irrelevant for a while and when I get to it I'll decide how old they actually are XD Hope you enjoyed and sorry that it took so long to update❤️ if you ever see that I'm slacking  just comment cause sometimes I forget that I have books😂)