Skye wouldn't tell me who we were meeting. She just pulled me along down the streets and I felt my worries start to melt away. I didn't ask where we were going or why, I trusted her enough to let her drag me along. A thought that surprised me.
We ended up on the tube going through Manchester and I wondered where my sisters could be. It dawned on me how dumb my plan was. I didn't know where to start looking. I didn't know if they were in the city or the country, I didn't know anything. They didn't even tell me what part of the country they were in.
I needed to sort my own life out first before I found them. But my life had changed. I wasn't at the Home anymore. And I wasn't going back.
It startled me how sad that made me feel. It wasn't my home but it was still a home. Somewhere I belonged. Somewhere I was loved. Now I was nowhere. I was on my own.
Well, not exactly on my own. I looked at Skye who had her nose in a book and smiled.
I wondered how long it would be before the Home noticed we were missing. We were only two people, but as soon as the register was taken, Charlie would walk up to my room and find the place empty and would soon sound an alarm.
Maybe it had already been rung.
"Switch the tracker off on your phone." I told Skye.
She did as instructed and I did the same. I didn't want this over before it had barely started.
We continued walking until we reached a block of apartments and she rang the intercom.
"Hello?" A gruff voice asked.
"It's Skye, let me in." She demanded.
"The hell? Come on up." A suddenly cheerful voice said.
There was a buzz and Skye pushed open the door and I followed her up three flights of stairs where she skipped up eagerly.
"There isn't a lift." She informed me, as my legs started to protest.
I gritted my teeth and continued to follow her. Eventually, after what seemed like a dozen flights of stairs, we reached the right floor and I followed her down the hallway to a grubby-looking door.
She muttered something under her breath and raised her fist to knock loudly on the door.
The door flung open and there was a mess of dreadlocks before Skye was swept up in a hug. Her attacker laughed and she giggled back.
"Put me down!" She laughed.
"If I do you might escape again." Dreadlocks said.
"I promise I won't."
"That's what you said the last time."
"Ok ok I promise promise."
"That's not even a thing." He replied, placing her back down.
"Worked though." She smirked.
He chuckled and for the first time seemed to notice me.
"Who's the kid?"
Kid? Who did he think he was? He was only about a year or two older than me at most.
"A friend. Listen, we'll do introductions in a minute. We need your help."
He gave her a long look.
"What trouble have you got yourself into now, Baby-blue?"
Huh?
"Baby-blue?" I asked.
"The sky was baby-blue when we first met." Skye said. "He thinks it's funny."
He grinned.
"I don't know why you have to embarrass me every time." She complained.
"Because it's fun."
"It's embarrassing."
"That's why I gave you the name." He laughed.
She slugged him and smiled.
"Seriously, we need your help."
"With what?"
"We need a place to stay for a while."
"What happened to the Home?"
"Um, we sort of...left it."
"Baby-blue, don't tell me you ran away again."
"I didn't run away." She protested.
"Right." He nodded. "That's what you said the last time."
"Well I didn't run away that time." She clarified. "This time it's a bit different."
He rolled his eyes. "Come and sit down and explain."
We entered the small apartment and I was taken aback by how clean it was. There wasn't a thing out of place or abandoned. It was miles away from the Home where everything was strewn across the halls and smeared on the doors and walls.
We sat down side by side on the sofa and I was introduced to Elliott; Skye's oldest friend.
"I'm the one who tells Skye if the guy she is dating is a dick or not." He said, giving me an appraising look.
"He's not lying. Unfortunately." Skye added.
"He's a dick." Elliott announced after a minute and Skye punched him on the arm.
"He's already changing you. You used to love me." Elliott cried, falling to his knees with a pained howl.
"Leave him alone, Ellie." Skye chuckled. "Anyway, we're not dating. We're on a mission."
He looked up from his dramatic crying and frowned. "What kind of mission?"
She looked at me to confirm it was ok and when I shrugged she took that as permission.
"We're looking for his sisters." She said.
"Ok." He said slowly. "How did he lose them again?"
"They're in a foster home, idiot." She said. "He's trying to find them."
"And the Home knows about this, do they?"
We watched him in silence and a slow smile made its way across his face.
"Oh boy, this should be good." He said.
~*~
Elliott listened to our tale with minimum interruption though he couldn't stop himself from smirking at some of the more dramatic parts of our tale, which I didn't even realise we had until Skye started telling it. She had a way of telling even the simplest story and spinning it into a beautiful adventure.
"Is that why you went red?" He smirked. "Or is that to match your fiery temper?"
"What?"
"Don't listen to him, Lincoln." She said, rolling her eyes.
"I see you haven't had the pleasure of meeting her yet. Boy, I can't wait to be there when you do." He laughed.
I hoped he was joking, but the sparkle in his eyes made me think that Skye was more complicated than she seemed.
Skye shook her head at me before turning back to her friend.
"So what do you say?" She asked. "Will you help us?"
Hold up, since when was this an us problem? They were my sisters. My responsibility. I was the one who was going to find them and love them and apologise for taking so long to get back to them. Why were all these people suddenly getting involved?
Because you asked Skye to help. And she trusts people. You should try it sometime.
I shook my head. It was true, if I was going to trust Skye, I had to trust her completely. No hesitations. No setbacks.
I didn't have time to waste. Not if I wanted to find them.
People don't stay in one place forever. I needed to find them before they moved too far and were out of reach for good. I wasn't going to let them down again. If that meant trusting other people, then that was what I would do.
Even if it was the hardest thing I had ever had to do.