Home- Sequel To Promise Me: Adopted By NateWantsToBattle

Chapter 5

Amber's POV

I counted the last of the money in the jar. It was all dollar bills that Charlotte would switch over to pounds to buy her ticket. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I rushed to shove the money into the jar and hid it under my bed. No one looks down there. If you lose something, there's not even a chance you'll get it back. I grabbed my homework on the bedside table and pretended I was deep in thought over an algebra problem. "Amber Elise! What did I tell you about cleaning the kitchen after dinner!" my adopted mother yelled at me. "I was doing homework! Do you want to have me fail? I certainly don't. So leave me alone about it!" I slammed my textbook down and passed by her, my shoulder bumping into hers. "Get back here young lady!" I grabbed my bag and slammed the door behind me. I wasn't up for the yelling that night. I dashed to the park and climbed up into the old treehouse in one of the older trees. This was mine. No one in the whole of this suburb knew about it. My sanctuary. I threw my bag down and paced around the tiny room. My mother thinks she owns me. I would run away if I had another place to go. Mrs. Lane said she never wanted to see me again after I was adopted. I was too much of a trouble maker. The only one she loved was a little red-haired girl who she said reminded her of her dead daughter. I hated that girl for being so close to someone I thought of as my mother. I started sobbing as I paced. I wasn't wanted anywhere. My birth mother abandoned me thinking she could do so much better in Europe. I was barely wanted by anyone at school. I climbed out of the tree with my bag on my shoulder. It was getting late. I had to be home. I climbed the house and through my window into my bedroom. I didn't turn on any lights to keep me from being noticed. I grabbed a flashlight from the closet and continued on the homework I slammed onto the floor. My life couldn't get any worse.

Kile's POV

I opened the pictures Charlotte sent me. All of them were of bruises on some part of her body. From what she told me, it seemed like her birth parents abused her frequently. I printed off the pictures and set them down on the table next to the door. I knew my parents would come through for me with this. They said to me when I was little that they would be there for me or my friends if anything happened. It was ten o'clock sooner than I wanted it to be. I grabbed the pictures, slipped them into a folder and with a sharpie labeled it Charlotte's restraining order. I placed it on my dad's desk and went to bed soon after.

Lyanna's POV

The next morning, I stacked the last dollars we needed and slipped them into the envelope I grabbed from the cabinet downstairs. I climbed out the window and texted the Scene.

Lyanna: I'm ready to put the money in the mail. Meet under the tree!

I beat everyone to the park and hung upside down on the tree. Kile came up behind my line of vision and tickled my hips. I gripped the branch and flipped around to stand on the grass. Myka and Amber met us ten minutes after Kile; Hale came two minutes after that. "Amber, do you have the jar?" She opened her bag and pulled out the full jar. I took it from her hands and stuffed the rest of the money into the envelope. I sealed it and we all walked to the post office. "One week. Then Charlotte will make her way home." The Scene cheered and I dropped the envelope into the mailbox. "Why does it have to take so long. I want her back now!" Myka complained. "One week is better than never. We can all be thankful for that." Hale pointed out. Kile and I hugged and the Scene and I all walked off towards the mall. We all needed a break from the stress.

Charlotte's POV

Lyanna texted me later that day that the money was on its way to London. It brightened my spirits so much I was able to work quicker than I had before the news. Hold on Nate. I'll be home soon.