Book 1: Valentina

Chapter 2

The longer I stared at this woman the more familiar her face became, not familiar as in I'd recognized her, but familiar as in I recognized my mom.

She said that she understood if it was too soon for me to call her grandma so just to call her Maggie, so I did. It was strange, to go from only having my mother as my family to having Maggie and everyone else that lived in New York. She'd told me about how she'd been looking for me and my mom for the past 15 years and how her heart was broken since we left. I understood exactly how she felt.

It had been two hours since we'd left the foster home, on the way to the airport I found out that Gertrude was keeping information from me while she was locking me inside of that room.

Turns out they found my mom's boyfriend,the bartender at the bar a few miles from our house called the police when a man with blood all over his shirt and hands walked in threatening customers. I was glad that they got him, but one question constantly ran through my mind; What man rips a mother away from her child?

"Artura?" called Maggie.

I broke my attention away from the window and looked at Maggie. I hadn't really spoken to her since we left the foster home and I hadn't planned on speaking. It felt weird, like where would I start, what questions should I ask, what did I even want to know? Maggie took the hint.

"Look, I understand how you must feel, having to leave your friends behind and starting your life over right at the age where you're actually starting to live. But, I promise you'll love New York, the neighborhood is alright, the school is great and from what I hear you're an artist. Maybe we can put you into some art programs?" she continued.

I nodded and turned my attention back towards the window she was right about one thing. I was just starting to live. Alex and I had our entire senior year planned, and the big trip at the end of the year that we'd started saving up or last year, this wasn't fair.

Within an hour we were on the plane and bound for New York, it was still hard to believe that I was just up and leaving everything I'd known, especially Alex. I hadn't been able to talk to him since I'd gotten into the foster home because the foster mother took my phone and the night Maggie came I was in such a rush to get out of there that I had forgot about asking for it, but Maggie promised me that once I was settled in New York she'd get me a phone.

I looked out the window as the state that I called my home disappeared beneath me and when it was gone I closed the shade to the window. I looked over to Maggie who had pulled a crossword book out of no where, with her glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose, I had to become more and more familiar with this women for the next few months at the most.

I hadn't noticed that I fell asleep, but apparently I did and Maggie was there shaking my shoulders gently, when I opened my eyes she smiled at me and opened the shade.

"We're here." she sang.

We made our way through the crowded airport, Maggie seemed to know her way around the place and guided us straight to the parking lot and straight to her car, Maggie had drove her car to the airport so that we wouldn't have to hassle to call a cab.

On the way to Maggie's house I looked out of the window at the unfamiliar place, I felt like Dorothy when her house dropped into Oz. With every stop sign and traffic light I began to realize that this wasn't a dream, and I wasn't just visiting Maggie for the summer, this was about as real as it gets,  I'll never see her again.

"Oh dear, its going to be alright. I miss your mother too."Maggie said rubbing my back.

I didn't notice that I had started crying until Maggie started rubbing my back, just as soon as I started I wiped the tears out of my face and sat up straight. Maggie noticed and quickly removed her hand from my back.