The Contract

Emma's POV

My name is Emma Lawrence. My actual name is Hope but my parents name me Emma when they adopted me. My birth mother died giving birth to me and so Father Justin took me in. I was brought up at St. Mary's Orphanage in a small town named Cooperstown, near New York City, until the age of 7.

At St. Mary's, I used to have a best friend named Jay. He and I were inseparable until one day when he left me and went with his adopted parents.

Jay is a year older than me. He and I were inseparable. We did everything together. But we got into a huge fight because I thought that he ripped my bunny that my mom left for me before she died giving birth to me.

One day, I came home from school and found that jay was adopted by a family and that they took him. I tried asking Father Justin about who adopted jay and if I could meet him but he said that the information was classified and he shouldn't tell that to anyone. I was sad that I didn't get to say goodbye to my best friend. Even though we were fighting, he was my best friend.

I ran to my trunk box and took out the necklace that jay gifted me for my birthday last year. It was a necklace with a heart-shaped locket that had the letters J & H – stands for Jay and Hope, inside it. I loved that necklace a lot because it was the first ever gift I got from anyone other than Father Justin. it was the only token of remembrance from his birth parents but he gave it to me and promised me that we will be together forever, but it did not happen.

A few days after that I came to know that jay wasn't the one who ripped my bunny but it was Ben, a boy who lived with us at St. Mary's. I didn't know that until after Jay left. I feel bad for fighting with my best friend and would give anything to have him back.

My adopted parents were very nice people and they loved and cared for me. My dad used to work in a marketing company but he lost his job last year. Ever since then, it has been hard making both the ends meet. I even quit school to help pay the bills.

I was studying law at Harvard but my parents couldn't afford my tuition anymore. So, I dropped out of college and started working as a waitress at a nearby diner. I also took part-time babysitting jobs. It was not enough to pay for my mom's medical bills. So, I decided to move to New York, where my friend Jenna found me a job as an intern at a big advertising company. Luckily they accepted my invitation even though I dropped out of college and don't have a degree. It pays very well, enough for me to pay the bills and for my mom's treatment.