Just My Luck

Chapter Two • She Soon Learned

Chance and Beau applied for a Visa for Australia and were helped in the process by Beau's adoptive parents, who were both pilots. The pair were soon counting down the hours until they touched down on Australian soil.

"How many more minutes Chance?" Beau asked for the two-hundredth time. It was a game they both played. Beau knew there was fourty-five minutes and thirty-three seconds left, but watching Chance get excited counting the time was great fun to watch. "Can you believe it Beau?" Chance said, laughing, "I'm going to see them. My Mom and my uncle! Just two days ago I was an orphan and now I have parents!" It was hard to see Chance like this. Beau tried to remain optimistic, but a feeling in the pit of his stomach reminded him that Chance may be getting excited for no reason - her Uncle could have moved, or may not even know where her Mom was. "Chance, we don't know what happened with your Mom" He ventured, although he knew it would have no effect. Chance would stay excited, no matter what he said.

Climbing out of the plane gave Beau even more stress as he stumbled over doubts and the million dollar question that he had gone over and over multiple times - what the letter addressed to Jaxon Brooks meant. Sadly for Beau, there was no more time to question, as the taxi taking them both to Chance's Uncle's supposed house arrived.

Throughout the 30 minute journey, Chance herself was filled with doubts, niggling thoughts at the back of her head questioning everything that she had known. The past month, waiting for the Visa to arrive in the mail had been a blur, she had been exhilarated, that much she remembered. But there had not been any hesitation on her part, she couldn't help but wonder if Beau was right - if she was getting excited without knowing what she had gotten herself into.

The taxi soon pulled up in front of a red-brick house, and before she had a chance to gather her thoughts, Beau had rung the doorbell. The sound resounded through the entire house, and Chance heard the clip-clop of high-heels coming towards the door a few seconds later. As the door opened, Chance flinched and Beau threw a quick worrying glance at Chance before looking at the woman, who stood at the door. She was heavily pregnant, Chance realised. Her brown-haired eyebrows were raised slightly in question, and Chance couldn't help thinking if this woman was her mother. She did have brown eyes and brown hair, although she didn't look like Chance at all. She hadn't noticed that the woman had spoken, until she heard Beau's voice saying that Chance's Uncle lived here.

The woman looked at Chance for the first time and her eyes grew wide in shock. A man, who Chance perceived to be the woman's partner or husband soon appeared beside the woman, his brown eyes were the same shade of brown as Chance's, and Chance realised that his eyes weren't the only thing they had in common. Their facial structure was the same and as was their hair colour. As Chance uttered the word that she had never said in her entire life, the door was slammed in her face. Chance saw it took Beau by surprise too, as he jumped. Chance took a step back as the word she had barely stammered echoed in her ear. 'Dad ', 'Dad', 'Dad'. She remembered the man's face when she had said it. He had looked at her with absolute disgust before slamming the door in her face.

Chance thought about crying. She had never shed more than a few tears in her life and she hadn't even cried when she had broken her arm. Beau put his arm around her and pulled her into an embrace, like he always did when she was upset. "He'll come around." she heard Beau murmur soothingly.

Beau went up to the door again, but this time he left Chance sitting behind a hedge. The man slamming the door in their faces had really rocked Chance, if she wanted to cry and get her feelings out, she would only do it when no one - not even he - was looking. Beau raised his finger to ring the doorbell, which had been crookedly placed between a gap in the bricks. But before he could ring it, the door opened, and the man, who Beau realised looked very much like Chance, stood in front of him. "Where is Luck?" he asked, pointing to the space next to him, where Chance had stood before. Beau assumed he was talking about Chance, but had no idea why he had called her 'Luck'. "Chance?" Beau enquired, wondering if he actually was referring to Chance. "The girl who was with you," he pointed, "Her name's not Luck?" Beau shook his head at the man, who now looked like he was about to faint. Beau was about to tell the man that her name was Chance, when Chance appeared beside Beau.

"My name is Chance." she said, pronouncing each word clearly, and without any emotion. The man looked taken aback, shaken and about to cry all at once. He looked at Chance, with tears in his eyes. "My sister named you Luck you know," he said. It was then that it dawned on both Beau and Chance that this was Chance's Uncle - Samuel Morgan.

Samuel had just ushered the pair inside when Chance found her tongue again, she was bursting with questions about her mother and father. "But where is my mother?" Chance couldn't help asking, over and over again. Samuel would give a small laugh and proceed with pouring them coffee.

When Samuel had finally finished pouring them coffee, he introduced them to the lady they had seen earlier as his wife, Bella. "You look just like Isla," she had whispered to Chance when they had sat down to drink their coffees.

Bella had brought out Samuel's and Isla's baby pictures and everyone had laughed over them, Chance was having a great time. Bella had gone to another room to fetch a photo of Isla when she had been pregnant with Chance. "Isla would be so proud of the woman you are now, Chance." Isla smiled, returning with the photo.

"What do you mean by that?" Chance was troubled and Beau, fearing the worst, put his hand over her knee. Bella opened her mouth, and the words that came through her lips within those last few seconds changed Chance's life forever.