I don't know yet???

one

Charlotte didn't miss her parents so much as she missed her old house.

    Her parents were supposed-to-be's. They were supposed to take her to restaurants and the park and the toy store, but they never did. Once she was old enough to feed herself, it was completely on her. Her parents were never home, and even when they were, they were high out of their minds.

    The house was a different story. Somehow the two-bedroom place held a  special spot in her heart. She had loved how reddish-rusty dust had come off the bricks and onto her fingers whenever she dragged her hand across the outside walls. She had loved the occasional piece of graffiti that showed up overnight. At least it was a dash of color in her dull grey neighborhood.

    This new house was yellow. A sickeningly sweet yellow, like banana-flavored taffy. Everything was perfectly cleaned, and there were flower boxes (with pink peonies inside) on every window. Above the door (the purest white Charlotte had ever seen, like fresh printer paper) was a light wooden cross and a sign stating the name of the place.

    After the social worker knocked on the door, it was opened by a woman with curly blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. She smiled a sweet, pink-lipgloss-smile at Charlotte and her siblings, and said, "Hi! My name's Georgia. You must be the new kids."

    Charlotte nodded slightly, swallowing.

    "Come on in, take your shoes off," Georgia said. The smile never left her face, and it started seeming a little fake. There were no happy little crow's feet dancing around her deep blue eyes.

    Charlotte kicked off the old worn-down white and grey sneakers she'd been wearing for the past few days, looking back up for more direction. "What now?" she asked. Her voice was small, timid. She mentally chided herself for seeming like such a scaredy-cat, after dozens of people had told her that this place was safe, safer than her old house.

    "I'll show you kids to your rooms." Georgia gestured to the end of the hallway, and started walking. Charlotte followed, her short legs having to move fast in order to keep up with Georgia's quick, long strides.

    "This is where you'll be staying, Charlotte." Georgia pointed to a room with two beds, both made neatly. Charlotte nodded, stepping inside, placing her little black bag of belongings on the dresser.

    As her siblings left to go to their rooms, Charlotte sat down on her bed and ran her hand along the comforter. It was soft pink and silky, just like the other one in the room. Charlotte wasn't really a fan of pink, but she had to admit, this was one of the nicest things ever considered "hers".

    She stared out the window, which was facing the backyard. It was incredibly green, all the grass healthy and bright. A little playground structure (with swings, Charlotte's favorite for recess) sat a little closer to the house, and beyond the yard there was a little beach with a few chairs. It was the ocean, and it was right outside her new house, with its little white waves curling up as far out into the distance as she could see.

    "Hello?"

    Charlotte was jerked out of her thoughts as she turned towards the doorway where the voice had come from. A girl stood there, with deep mahogany skin and golden cognac eyes lined in mascara. There was a look of confusion on her face as she stepped in and asked, "So, who exactly are you?"

    Charlotte froze. She didn't speak and she looked away, staring down at the hardwood floors.

    "Oh, you don't wanna talk?" the girl said. "That's alright. I'm Eleanor, by the way. I guess we'll be sharin' a room."

    Eleanor had a pretty strong southern accent for being in North Carolina. She smiled widely and then sat down gracefully on her own bed, pulling out her phone from the top drawer of the white nightstand next to it.