The Lost Girl (Complete)

Chapter Three - The First Link

Her mother wasn't exactly good at making sure her daughter had clean clothes every day and Celestia only really had time on the weekends to do her washing.

"Oh no," She whimpered, her heart breaking. Surely birthdays were meant to be happy?

"Hey," The nice man murmured, lowering himself into the chair opposite. "You're fine to stay here until it clears up a bit and I just so happen to need a volunteer to test some new things for the menu. You up for it? No cost."

Another form of charity, she still couldn't resist nodding her head, her stomach rumbling. It had been long time since breakfast and she very rarely had food to take to school or money to buy lunch.

"Thank you," She whispered, watching him walk back towards the kitchen.

Jolting out of the memory when arms slipped around her, Celestia laughed gently as she returned the embrace from Uncle.

"Hey, boss," She murmured, enjoying the way he grumbled as he released her.

"When will you stop calling me that, cheeky girl?"

Studying the lines of age across his face, she smiled, "When you finally decide to fire me."

"Can't fire you, Tia. I'm retired, remember?"

She walked with him through the kitchen to where she could store her jacket and slip on an apron, "Funny, you don't look retired."

Shaking his finger at me, he growled, "I will when those boys of mine decide to finally take over."

Uncle had forever spoken about his two nephews but in the four years that she had worked for the man, she had never been able to meet them. Apparently they had once worked there when the diner first opened but at their age, Uncle had revealed, they had families and a bustle of children to run after. That was pretty much all he had ever talked about – Celestia had never pried and Uncle had never offered up the more private details of his family.

"Why not just ask them? Or aren't any of their kids old enough to step in for you?"

He chuffed, "Impertinent chit."

She returned the affection with a smile, "Don't know why you put up with me. Perhaps you finally regret giving me a job when I was fourteen?"

"Bah, I'll never forget your little face and how much you needed to be here. I just wish you would open up a little and tell me about your family. Four years and I still don't even know your mother's name!"

It was a familiar grumble. One she had never caved to – her home life was never allowed to touch this sanctuary. Her mother had never questioned her daughter's choice to work every chance she got, Marie had just been happy that there was extra money to waste.

Ignoring him, she slipped back out into the kitchen where a multitude of people greeted her.

"Front," Marco called from the stove, not waiting to see if she followed the order.

She walked out to the counter where the controlled chaos of the diner allowed her to shrug off her worries, even just for a little while.

... ... ...

Celestia sighed as she flipped the lock of the diner's door. It had been a long day and, although she had been grateful for the distraction, she wanted nothing more than to slink home and soak in the tub.

While she could.

"Good take," Uncle announced as he emptied the till. "Help me take this into the office, Tia, and then you can head off."

Without a word, she scooped up the heaviest bags of money and followed him. It was a trust that she had always appreciated, being able to help with every aspect of the diner.

They dropped their burdens on to the desk before Celestia tugged her jacket out of the little pigeon hole designed to store all of the employees' belongings.

"You dropped something," Uncle called before she made it to the doorway, her feet eager to start the journey towards home and her bed.

She blinked as he scooped up and unfolded the photograph that she had been foolishly carrying around. It had been a constant reminder of her mission a long with the journal that sat underneath her pillow.

"What's this?" He muttered, the frown on his face mystifying. "Where did you get this?"

Her lip trembled at the hardened demand in his voice. He'd never used that tone with her before.

"I..." Telling him the truth would open the flood gates and she would be forced to reveal her whole sad story, something she didn't feel strong enough to do when it seemed that her entire world was continuing to crumble. She shook, "I found it."

It wasn't a lie.

His eyes narrowed, fingers crinkling the already crinkled picture. "You found it?"

She drew in a breath, "Yes. At school. When I was signing out on my final day, I found this on the floor near the main office. I completely forgot that I had it in my pocket. I meant to drop it back into Ashley Waters when it reopened since I know that it must belong to one of my teachers."

He studied her face for a long moment before glancing back down at the ten youthful faces, "Kota Lee was one of your teachers?"

Her heart froze, "You know him?"

It was all she could do to keep her voice steady.

Of course!

The diner had been here since her mother was young. Surely Sang and some of the boys had eaten at there.

His gruff voice softened, "I haven't seen this photo in years." He laughed, "My boys haven't changed much."

Her entire world tilted.

"Your boys?" She breathed.

There was no possible way.

"Yes. My North and Lucian are some of Kota's best friends and, of course, I know all of the others."

God.

"Are they all still friends?" She fought to keep the terrified excitement off her face.

His body stiffened slightly, lips pursed as he considered her. "You know I don't talk about their private lives."

Celestia nearly deflated, "Of...of course. I didn't mean to pry." She wanted to cry with frustration.

Why couldn't she just have the courage to tell him?!

"Most people wouldn't understand their choices," He continued, obviously weighing his words carefully. "They are all still friends. In fact, they share an estate on the other side of Charleston."