Finding Oriana

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Some years later...

"Oh my god, Oriana, just look at the size of you. Bloody hell, you've grown so tall." My auntie Hales said after opening the door. She then surprises the hell out of me when she pulls me in for a hug. Naturally, I reciprocate and hug her, too. I felt a little taken aback, but I do it all the same.

"Hi, Auntie Hales. Jeez, I'm not that big," I tell her while chuckling away at her shocked face.
"Sweets, trust me; you're tall, especially for... wait, how old again? Almost eighteen?" I nod, confirming I am. "You're as tall as I was at your age."
"You were, five, six at seventeen too?" I ask feeling a little shocked to hear this. I really shouldn't be because she's quite tall.
"Yeah, maybe a little taller, but not far off. I guess you've got your height from your Orin's side, huh?"
When she said this, I smiled because I do take after him. Mum always tells me how much I look like him. Not as much as when I was a baby, but I still have dark hair. I also have the same eyes, along with the one Dimple. But everything else is my mum. Her face and body shape, even her smile. My Dad (Alex) calls me Tinkerbell Mark-Two. We're so alike that our attitudes kind of match.
I guess you're wondering why I'm with my auntie Hales, huh? Well, my family decided to move up north since mum took over looking after my uncle Darren. I guess we had no ties to keep us in London anymore - aside from the gym of course. Oh, don't worry, it's still going, but she's got people looking after it now. When we moved up here, she opened another class for special needs in my dad's old gym. The one we have up here is the same one I'll inherit when I turn eighteen. Now, you're probably wondering why we have Darren in our care. This is the sad part. Sadly, my Nana May passed away about two years ago from the big ugly C. It took her away from us, and it almost killed me. Oh, I miss her and grandad Tommy. I miss him so much and unfortunately for us, he's still in London. He's still there, but he promised he'd come and visit at Christmas.

I'm sitting in her tattoo studio. Well, it's not hers as such. It's just where she works, at a place called Phoenix Ink. Apparently, there are a few other artists in here, too. I've not seen any yet though.

"Auntie Hales, you know when I turn eighteen, in a few months? Will you give me my first tattoo?" I ask after spotting an amazing painting. It's a watercolour-style tiger, and hanging on the wall above her station.
"I'd be honoured sweet, but even when you turn eighteen, square it with your parents first. You know they'd kill me if I did that without them knowing."
I roll my eyes but nod and tell her, I will.

So while looking around, the door I walked through suddenly swings open again. When I look up, I see a blonde woman walk in - looking pissed off. Yet when she saw me, she smiled.

"Oh, hello there." She said before looking at my auntie, probably wondering who I am.
"Hey, Mars. Sorry, I um... I kinda invited my niece around to look around the place. She's doing an art exam you see, so she needed to gather some info on ink. I hope that's okay. I mean, we won't be too long."
Mars waved her hand, telling her it was totally fine. Only to then make me jump slightly when she called out while looking at the studio front door.

"Kaiden, get your backside in her now! I won't tell you again, lad."
When she did this, I looked too. Seriously, the name alone made my ears pick up. I think it's a pretty cool name.

"Mum, seriously? Why can't I just stay at home? Megs gets to stay, so why-" He stopped in his tracks after stepping inside the studio's doorway when he saw me. Naturally, I'm looking at him too. Hell, we're locked in. Oh lord, well hello there Mr Hottie McBuff. Wow, he's... Nope, I have no words. All I will say is, he's beautiful. I can't look away. My whole body's stuck. Seriously, I can't move. Yet just when I think he'll say something or even acknowledge me, he rips his eyes away. He still looked mad as he walked through the studio, and into Mar's office. He walked away, leaving me feeling stunned. After a few moments, and after watching his tight backside walk out of the room, I notice a presence beside me. My auntie Hales, to be precise.