"I am going to miss you so much." Gabby cried, throwing her arms around my neck. She buried her face in my hair. "Promise you'll visit us soon?"

"Yes, I will," No, I won't. I turned to Corinne who was brave enough not to shed a tear. I reached down for her hand then pulled her in for a hug. "I'm going to miss you the most," I whispered in her ear. Gabby was my least favorite friend, as much as I hate to admit it. She kept getting on my damn nerves. Throughout the years, she was a constant pain in the neck, and had always been a flaky person to me. But at the end of the day, she was still my friend. All she needed was a little guidance in life. "Make sure to keep a look out for Gabby. You know how guys love to take advantage of her."

I doubted that Gabby even heard me. She was too busy eye fucking the guy standing on one of the Self-Service Check-In kiosks. Shortly, a pregnant blonde woman approached the guy with a little boy in tow. Gabby frowned, realizing he was married. The look on her face was priceless. Corrine turned to me with a smirk. "Don't worry, Vienna. I got this. Just focus on your life right now, okay? Let us know if you want us to come over, and we'll be there before you know it."

"Thank you," I smiled, lifting my carry on. "I love you, guys. Oh, and Gabby?"

Gabby looked up from her phone. "Yes?"

"Please stay away from married men."

"Um, sure." She nodded, stifling a smile. This is the reason why she gets on my nerves.

"Well, I guess this is it," I sighed. "I'm ready for a new beginning." I waved at them as I made my way to the security checkpoint. While I was in line, my mind drifted off to my mother and my sister. Last night, I begged them not to come to the airport anymore. It would be hard to say goodbye if they were here. My heart ached so much for leaving them. California was huge. Why the hell did I suddenly decided to move to another state? I don't know. Maybe I just had a feeling that something good will be coming my way. Whatever that is, I'll be ready.

After I placed my bag in the overhead bin, I sat down near the window and inserted one of my air pods into my right ear. Now that I'm no longer posting videos online, I have to start applying for a job. I'm sure Nicola would be able to help me with that. Knowing how sweet she is, she'll probably beg her uncle to give me a position at her uncle's restaurant. If that ever happens, I'll make sure to go through an interview just to prove myself. I don't want any handouts from anyone. That was one thing I needed to get used to. I'm no longer the rich wild, party girl everyone knew. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back against the headrest.

"Excuse me." A small voice said.

I opened one eye and saw a little curly haired girl sitting down next to me. She had pale white skin and beautiful brown eyes. "Hi there." I straightened in my seat.

"Hi." She replied without smiling.

"I'm guessing you're my seatmate?" I smiled, then started looking around for her family. "Where are your parents?"

"I'm by myself," she muttered, looking down at her little fingers. An unaccompanied minor. It was only for a brief moment before she looked back up at me. "May I please have the window seat?"

"Uh, sure." I got up and switched seats with her. The little girl looked so happy as she stared outside the window. Great. I guess I'll be babysitting throughout my whole flight. Interacting with kids wasn't my forte. I was just never good with kids. Maybe it's because I lack the maternal instinct.

"My name's Vienna," I extended my hand to shake her hand. This was my first attempt on making conversation with a child. "What's yours?"

"I can't tell you my real name," she shook her head. Her curls bounced off her shoulders as she turned her little head back to the window. She was busy staring at the big plane parked next to us. Not really sure what she was looking at.

"Well, you don't have to tell me your real name," I said. She looked at me. That got her attention. I smiled. "How about a nickname?"

It took a long time before she spoke. She was probably thinking about it for a long time. "Tracy."

"How old are you, Tracy? I hope you don't mind me asking about your age?" I was pushing it. The kid was probably bored of me already.

"Six," she said. "How old are you?"

Okay. I guess we're having a conversation now. This is good. If I keep this up, I could add it to my resume. It would definitely be a great additional skill. Good with babysitting. "I'm twenty-four. I'm probably as old as your mother."

She shrugged, looking back at the window. Maybe it's best to just leave her alone. I'm not going to lie, but Tracy was so cute with her jet-black curly hair and brown eyes. My mind drifted off to the thought of being pregnant one day. What if I accidentally get pregnant one day? Will I go through with it? To be honest? I don't know the answer to that question. I've never really thought about it until today. It was a scary thought. I wasn't sure if I was fit to become a mother. Even though I'm already an adult, I still have a lot of learning to do.

The world is a cruel place. There were quite a lot of stories about parents having kids and mindlessly tossing them to the side once everything goes south. The society we live in is one of the reasons why we still have this problem today. Nothing gets done. In the end, the children suffered the most in this battle, and it's truly heartbreaking.

The thought of pregnancies and the government had riled me up. I brushed it off by thinking of what I was going to do once I land in Colorado Springs. Luckily, the flight wouldn't take that long. The kid won't be dealing with me anymore. Once we were up in the air, Tracy took out a small book from her pink shoulder bag. I wasn't much of a reader when I was her age. "What are you reading?"

"An adventure book," she said as she located the bookmark. "It's about dragons and fairies."

"Nice," I nodded, craning my neck over to take a good look at the book in her hand. It didn't look like a children's book to me. "Does it have a happily ever after? I love stories that have happy endings."

"Mamma said happily ever after doesn't exist."

Well, damn. That shut me up. This little girl's mother probably had her heart broken before and now she doesn't believe in love. I'm guessing she doesn't want to give her daughter false hope when it comes to love.

Do I believe in love? I do. I've only dated two guys in the past when I was young. First one cheated on me. Now that was a major heart break. That happened around our first year of college. He was Ridgecrest University's golden fuck boy. I was young, naïve, and easily swayed by sweet words and promises. At that time, I really thought he was the one, until I walked in on him one day with a girl blowing him off in his bed. Seriously, what is up with guys not locking their bedroom doors?

Then the second guy ghosted me, but I honestly didn't give a shit about that one because apparently, he had a lot of baggage, and I didn't have the time to deal with his tantrums. He showed me how immature he was in a span of a week. The bastard. I was grateful that he showed his true colors right away, though.

Love is complicated, but it doesn't mean we have to lose faith in it. There are plenty of fish in the sea. I believe I'll catch one soon enough. I hope.

Author's Notes:

I promise that Giovanni will be making an entrance in the next half of this chapter. ;) Sorry to keep you guys waiting.

XOXO Katie