Laura's POV
The rest of the Lynches stayed over for dinner and so did Ellington.
I was sitting in mine and Ross' room while they were watching a movie.
"Hey, why aren't you down there?" Ross walked in and sat next to me, closing the door.
"There's just... Way too many things on my mind about my parents," I said.
"You do know we're here for you. For both you and Vanessa," he said.
"Yeah I know. And I thank you for that but-"
"But what?"
"It's just not the same with mom and dad gone..."
"But they were gone for most of you teenage life. Just pretend they're away. Don't think the opposite."
I nodded.
"Laura, look at me," Ross faced me as he lifted my chin up to look at him. "I love you. We all love you. I want you to think of us as family, okay?"
I forced a smile, "Okay."
He stood up and reached out his hand, "Shall we?"
I smiled again for real and took his hand, "We shall."
We both walked down the stairs and saw everyone seated in front of the TV.
"There you guys are! C'mon movie's starting!" Rydel said.
..
Half way through the movie, I fell asleep on Ross' shoulder. I'm pretty sure everyone else fell asleep as well.
I opened my eyes and people were just sleeping on people's shoulders. Ross was sleeping too, and he still is.
I stood up and cleaned around and put the food back in the kitchen.
Then suddenly, Vanessa's phone rang and everyone woke up.
"Well geez, that was loud..." Rocky said.
"Vanessa, how loud is your ringtone?" I asked.
"Sorry..." She was pretty grumpy since she just woke up. She took her phone and unlocked the screen.
"It's a notification... About the our parents' crash!" My sister said.
Everyone circled around her, looking at her phone.
Vanessa read aloud.
"Investigators were investigating more details about the crashing aircraft, holding more than 200 people, including the parents of Laura and Vanessa Marano. It then turns out that the plane did not lose an engine, but it was in fact hijacked. Security cameras show what looks like a girl in a mask outside the plane, near the engine, just a few minutes before boarding."
There was a video, and Vanessa clicked on it. And they were right. There was a girl who hijacked the plane.
"She looks familiar..." Ross spoke up.
"What?"
"Even though she's in a mask. Her body looks familiar and so does the head."
And there. She was the first thought in my mind.
Maia Mitchell.
{PS. I do not hate Maia, I promise! She is just a character in my book😘}
Rocky walked down the stairs, "Laura I think your phone rang," he said, handing me my phone.
"Oh, thanks."
I unlocked the screen and a message popped up.
Blocked Number...?
"You took Ross from me, I took your parents from you.
Xoxo,
Maia"