Forever My Home

Prologue

Prologue

I was in my room listening to music, a new hip-hop dance song I hadn't heard yet, when my mom suddenly busted in the door. At least that was what it sounded like. A nondescript, brown leather suitcase dangled from her fingers.

"Mom?" I scooted to the edge of my bed, rumpling my sheets.

"Pay attention sweetie, I need to tell you something. It's very important."

She set the suitcase on my bed and propped it open. She spun around, went straight to my closet, and grabbed an armful of clothes.

"You're scaring me, Mom. Is it Dad? Oh no! Did something happen to Dad?" I asked as my heart began to beat harder and faster, almost hurting me.

"Your dad is fine, sweetheart."

She put another handful of clothes into the suitcase, then came to stand in front of me.

"I'm so sorry." She pulled me into a hug. "But everything your father and I did, we did to protect you. We did what was necessary to keep you safe. It was extreme, I know. Keeping you close to us, not allowing you do too much without us. I wish I could explain it now, but we don't have time." She pulled back, and stared into my eyes. Her eyes were full of tears that she was so desperately trying to keep from falling. Her lips pursed together before she said, "You must listen to me sweetheart, everything I'm about to tell you. Remember it." The intensity on her face was a bit frightening, something I've never seen on my mother's face, so I just nodded. "Adalyn May Nielson died today."

I knew my parents had a secret they'd yet to share with me all these years, but I never expected to hear that. This was unreal, and far too extreme, especially coming from my sweet mother.

"What?" I barely whispered. Adalyn May Nielson was my name.

My mom didn't allow me to keep thinking or speak.

"Your name is now, Adalyn Rose Anderson. You have a new birthday, which makes you twenty-one, not twenty-four, which you truly are. You have a new identification card and of course, a new birth certificate to back that all up. I took your old ones out of your purse and destroyed them. The new ones are in there now. I talked your dad into letting you keep your first name. That's all I could give you, sweetheart." She let go of me and went for my purse.

"Why do I have a new name, Mom?"

She ignored me.

"You also have blue eyes now." Pulling out a contact case from my purse, she handed it to me. "Put it in. Never take it out, especially around other people. We got a few pairs of them for you, which should last you a few years." I have what's called Heterochromia Iridium. My eyes are two different colors. The left one is blue and the right one is green. I never hid it from anyone and sometimes people would stare when they saw me, but mostly people didn't seem to care. Plus, I wore my sunglasses a lot because we rarely were out at night.

My mom continued, "Also, color your hair; I'd say cut it, but I really love your hair." She ran a hand over my head, pulling a few tendrils through her fingers and her voice got soft. "That sweetheart, you can decide on your own."

I put the contact in and blinked a few times.

"Oh sweetie, you look beautiful. Having blues eyes, it's so you. This will help you blend in more. Make friends, but be selective. You'll know when you can trust someone enough to be friends with them, and when you can't. I don't want you to tell anyone about us, but again, I'm letting you make that decision. I want you to enjoy your life. You'll feel it." I blinked at my mom, trying to understand what she meant about me making friends. I wondered if they were finally giving me the freedom to explore our area alone. She clapped her hands together. "Now, this is going to be hard for you ... but you have to leave."