Apparently, Elliott was something of a computer whiz. After giving him the name of my sisters and my mum's name and some other details, he found Emma Johnson on Facebook.
What the hell? I've been looking on Facebook for years. How did he solve it in five minutes?
"She doesn't appear to post much. A few pictures of artwork. Follows all these adoption centers and charities. Follows the Children's Center, the Children's Home."
"The Children's Home has a Facebook page?" Skye asked.
"Yeah." He clicked on the page and scrolled down, showing us posts and pictures the Home had put up. "Mostly events and trips the Home has organized. Charity work. The soup kitchens. That sort of thing."
I remembered some of those activities. The youngsters got so giddy and excited at the idea of a trip out and the older kids planned tricks on the day guards as they escorted us and landed in trouble.
He clicked on one episode I remembered clearly. A trip to the cinema for some Christmas movie. It had been hyped up and talked about every evening for weeks, people held quizzes on the movie, the little ones drew pictures or made sculptures of the characters. It was considered the highlight of the month.
I could go, Emily had said, if I behaved myself from now until the trip. And for once, I listened. There were no explosive moments, no sarcastic comments. I was a model pupil.
Until Child X came along.
He was the newbie. Cried all the time. Needed a security blanket. Asked for his mum constantly. And like vultures circling a carcass, some of the tough lads started to pick on him.
I had two options, I could either find Charlie or Fred and have them take care of him. Or I could sort it out myself.
I didn't even realise I had chosen an option until one of the bullies was on the ground and whimpering with pain.
"You sick monster. Picking on a child like that. How do you like it?"
"Get off me." He coughed as I punched him again.
"Johnson. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Fred shouted, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me until I came to my senses.
"Fred, leave him to me." Charlie said quietly, and he let go.
I blinked back to reality and looked around the hall, everyone was watching me, tense. Waiting for my next move. The kid I was defending stood to one side, trembling and wide-eyed.
"Come on, Johnson. We need to have a chat." Charlie said, pushing me out of the hall and all I could see was the look of the kid.
It was the same look my sisters used to give me when I lost my temper. The one that broke my heart and made me promise to do better. To be better.
In the office, Emily sighed and shook her head, writing in my file and frowning before she put me in confinement and cancelled the appointment to see my sisters yet again.
"I'm sorry." I whispered the meaningless words she'd heard over and over.
She shook her head again in disappointment and sent me off to a foster home that almost broke me.
Almost.
I shook off the memories and focused on the screen.
"There's nothing there we can use." Elliott said.
"What about Instagram? Twitter? There must be something." I said, desperately.
He made a few more searches.
"A Twitter account, doesn't give much information on her current whereabouts although you could send her a message, I suppose." He mused.
"Anything that tell us where she is and what's she's doing? Any mentions of any schools?" I asked.
"No." He said, still clicking.
"Well, there is one website she seems quite prominent on." He said, eventually. "A writing website. She's been on it for five years now. She's actually a pretty well-known author."
"Really?"
"Yeah, she makes constant links to it on her Twitter. Racked up twenty thousand followers. That's quite impressive."
"Has she written much on it?" I asked.
"Six books. And any number of short stories and poems. The favourite seems to be The Dandelion in a Poppy Field."
"Can I see?" I asked.
"Sure."
I slipped into the seat he vacated to read the blurb.
"Could I send a message on here, perhaps?" I wondered aloud.
He shrugged. "It's possible. If you search up the website and look up LostSunbeam then you will reach her page and may be able to send her a message."
I did as he instructed and created a profile LonelyHeart before searching for her. Arriving on the messaging page, I paused.
"What's wrong?" Skye asked.
What am I supposed to say?
"I'm thinking." I replied.
How was I supposed to just drop a message like this?
Hi, it's Lincoln the brother who possibly abandoned you. Are you the same girl I sent away every time because I was more scared of looking after you than I should have been about losing you? If so, give me a call.
I started typing before deleting again.
"What do I say?" I said, looking up at Skye.
I couldn't remember the last time I had felt so vulnerable.
"Hi." Skye said. "It's Lincoln. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to find you, but I'm here now. Let me know where you are and I'll do my best to find you. I promise."
I typed it up word for word and hesitated. Is this such a good idea? Maybe it was better to let them get on with their lives instead. Maybe I should leave them alone. Maybe I shouldn't promise them things I can't guarantee. I deleted the I promise part. I wasn't going to make any more broken promises.
My thumb hovered over the send button for a moment or two as I wondered whether this message would reach my sisters and what they would do if they read it.
"Lincoln, I swear to God if you don't send it." Skye said and I pressed the send button in surprise.
I blinked at the message as it popped up on the screen before raising an eyebrow at Skye.
"You're welcome." She said.
"What?"
She rolled her eyes.
"You were hesitating. The longer you hesitate the harder it'll be." She said. "Now we've just got to be patient."
"So what now?"
"Now you need a place to sleep." Elliott said, from behind me, making me jump. "It's after midnight."
"What?" I said, dazed.
He nodded.
"We could all do with some rest. I've set up the spare room for you two and I'm trusting you to behave." He narrowed his eyes at me in particular and Skye rolled her eyes.
"Ok, Mr. Protective. We'll be good. See you in the morning." Skye dragged me away from the computer and into a small room at the back of the flat, shutting the door behind us.
"Are you using the bathroom first or am I?" She asked, turning to face me properly.
"Huh?"
She sighed and repeated her question.
"Oh, you can. I need to...I need some space to breathe first." I said, softly.
She entered the bathroom and I sank onto the bed. Everything I had ever wanted was just hours, moments away. So why did I still feel like I was lost in the middle of nowhere?
My phone pinged and I lunged for it, wondering if maybe, just maybe, Emma had replied already.
It wasn't Emma. Instead, Darren's name popped up. What. The. Hell? What did he want? He never messaged me, I didn't even realize I had his number.
The police are looking for you. You are in so much trouble.
Great.
I switched my phone off and looked in the mirror again. No one would recognize me. Not unless they looked really really closely. I didn't have many recent pictures of me. I was off the grid.
I just needed to stay hidden long enough to find my sisters. Just long enough to remind them that I hadn't forgotten about them.
This was going to land me in so much trouble. But if it gave me the outcome I wanted, it would be a small price to pay.
But was I just going to cause us more pain by showing up only to be snatched away again?
What if, for all my efforts, it just wasn't good enough?
Skye left the bathroom in cherry blossom pyjamas and a towel wrapped around her head. She looked beautiful. Utterly beautiful.
"Your turn." She said.
I showered quickly and brushed my teeth before leaving the bathroom, and glancing around the small room.
"How is this going to work then?" I wondered, aloud.
I said this because there was only one bed.
Skye looked at me and back at the bed and shrugged.
"You stick to your side and I'll stick to mine." She replied. "I'm sleeping on the left."
"And why is that?"
"Because I always sleep on the left."
"That's my side of the bed." I argued.
She raised an eyebrow. "No way. I can't sleep in the right. Not a chance."
"This was my idea, therefore I get to choose." I replied.
"Is that so? I was the one who came up with where to stay, so I should get to choose." She countered.
I laughed. "That logic doesn't wash with me, love."
She sighed.
"Look, I'm tired. Can we just decide how we're going to do this already?"
"We could flip for it?" I said. "Got a coin?"
"No." She sighed. "Why don't we both pick a number and whoever gets the highest wins?"
"Alright." I agreed reluctantly.
~*~
Skye grinned at me.
"Goodnight." She said, cheerfully.
"Whatever." I muttered, leaning to switch the lights off. "Infinity is not a number, it's a concept."
"Tough." She said. "You should have had a coin ready."
I laughed softly. "Goodnight, Skye."
I was just starting to fall asleep when I felt a warm body snuggle into mine and a hand reached out to pull her closer instinctively. Breathing in the apple scent of her hair, I fell into a deep sleep.