Related Far Apart, Book 2

Chapter 1: Meeting Our Mother

"Hello girls!" My mother, Caitlyn Gilley, says to us as we enter her small, but cozy home. She seems so innocent, so sweet. But I have already fallen into that trap once. There is no way it's happening again.

"Hello, Miss.Gilley. Can you tell me when I will be able to go home?" I ask her. I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to.

"I am afraid you will be staying with me for a while, but make the most of it" Caitlyn tells me. "The room upstairs with the red wallpaper is yours. Why don't you make yourself comfortable? I just need to talk to Olivia for a moment, dear." She says to me. I don't want to go upstairs, I want to be back at home with my parents snuggled up by the couch. I want to run around in my yard, looking for wild animals in the forest near my home. I don't want to be in a cramped, city townhouse wondering if I will actually have a future. I just want to go home.

"No! I will not! I refuse!" I yell back at my mother, sprinting out the front door. As I turn around, I see both Olivia and Caitlyn running after me. I am out of breath, and I can barely move my legs anymore. As they catch up, they grab my arms and guide me back into the house. When we are inside, Olivia sits down at the table and Caitlyn guides me upstairs towards my bedroom. She throws me in, and locks the door as she walks out. I walk up towards the small window, trying to signal anybody I could. I wave my arms, I yell, and I try to get as much attention as possible. Although I try my hardest, all anybody would be able to hear is the traffic noise.

I turn around to more noise coming from downstairs. Even though my door won't open, I can hear the conversation that Caitlyn and Olivia are having. I push my ear to the door, and listen carefully.

"What can we do? We can't keep her here. Someone will definitely find her." Olivia says to Caitlyn.

"I know what we can do. I have a acquaintance down in Colorado and he owns a big company. He pays people to bring their kids to work there. I bet we can make really big money. Couple thousand dollars each, I'd say?" Caitlyn says to Olivia. I can hear Olivia mumbled yes, and so I spring into a panic. "I have to leave for work soon darling. But do you think you can watch Carley? It would be a shame to have her escape." Caitlyn tells Olivia. I hear Olivia say yes again.

As I hear the front door close, I start banging on the door. I bang so hard my arms get sore and start tingling. After 5 minutes of loud noise, Olivia comes upstairs to see what is going on.

"Quiet down, will you? I'm trying to read." Olivia tells me. I take this as another runaway chance. I push Olivia aside and once again run out the door. I see a school bus just pulling up across the street, so I sprint at full speed towards it. I quickly hop on the bus, realizing I have no idea where I am going. As I walk down the aisle, I see a girl waving over to me.

"Hello! Are you new? You can sit with us." The girl tells me. "My name is Iratxe. It's pronounced Ear-A-Chey. This is Marianne, and this is Angelica. We are neighbors. Did you move into our neighborhood? I know Mr.Balloochi's house was for sale, but I didn't know he already sold it." Iratxe says. I hesitate, because I don't want to lie, but I don't want to tell her everything either. I sit down, take a deep breath, and tell her Caitlyn and Olivia's plan. When I finish, All three of them look startled.

"This is very serious." Marianne acknowledges. "What do you think, Angelica?" Marianne asks her friend.

"I don't think you should go back to that home." Angelica says to me. "You could come over to my house, but that would be too close to your mother's house. Also, Marianne and I leave for vacation tomorrow."

"What about Daphny's house?" Marianne asks Angelica. "Daphny lives on the other side of town. I'll ask her If Carley can stay with her!" Marianne says to everyone. Iratxe and Angelica nods in agreement, and I nod along. Let's just hope this all works out.