Chapter 5
Adrianna couldn’t believe her eyes.
It had to be a coincidence. There was probably a thousand other people who had the exact same gold bracelet as the woman in the picture. After all, a plain band like that was common, but to what extent? Would other people have the exact same cursive lettering etched into the metal too?
Somehow she doubted it was a fluke. Yet if it wasn’t some sort of fluke, what could this mean? Was someone trying to tell her something? Is there some sort of connection between her and the photograph?
Adrianna scrutinized the photograph once more before she tossed it to the side of her bed in frustration. There was nothing else she could gain from looking at the picture, which meant she had to go to her parents and ask about this. They should have some information as they were the one who had given her the bracelet. Unfortunately the only problem with that solution was that she wouldn’t be able to get an immediate answer until they came home from work.
With an irritated sigh, Adrianna started to pace back and forth across the room. It drove her insane that she couldn’t figure this mystery out. The whole situation was like a puzzle she couldn’t solve. While she had some of the linking fragments in front of her, she still missing a few crucial pieces that were needed to complete the puzzle.
It was then that Adrianna decided to switch to plan B. She would try to figure out the language that the journal was written in and find some way to translate it. Maybe it would reveal some important information that she was missing.
Just as she was about to walk towards the cherry oak desk where the journal lay, the door to her room flew open and revealed a short dark haired girl that was covered in mud.
“Hey do you know where my cleats are?” she asked while leaning against the doorway.
For a couple of seconds, Adrianna stared at her younger sister in utter horror. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from yelling profanities at her. The thought of Casey tracking mud into herroom was the equivalent of falling into cow manure. Both made her cringe.
As if Casey read her mind, she dragged her mud caked hands down the edge of the door and walked into the room with a smirk on her face. “So do you know where it is?” she questioned while plopping herself down onto the bed. “I really need it since I found out that my school has tryouts for the soccer team.”
Adrianna closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had to inhale and exhale slowly to keep her anger in check. When she opened her eyes, she was still tempted to throw a lamp at her sister. She had spent hours scrubbing the dirt off the floors when she first moved in, and now she had to do it again. “Casey, get your stinking body off my bed! I have no idea where your cleats are and I don’t care. Why are you caked in mud anyways?” she demanded in annoyance.
Casey grinned. “Well my lovely sister, I had soccer tryouts today and the fields were really wet from the rain. In fact, I had to kiss the ground a few times because of the sneakers I was wearing. And so as you can see, I really need to find my cleats if I want to go home mud free,” she explained while snatching up the photograph lying on the bed. “Ohhh, hey what’s this?” she asked curiously.
Adrianna inhaled sharply as Casey’s muddy hands touched the photo. It was one thing to leave mud on the floors and even on her bed, but to touch a fragile picture was another thing. “Okay, get your ass out of my room now!” she shouted angrily.
To Adrianna’s dismay, her sister only ignored her. Instead, her eyes were intently focused on the photograph. She was about to throw Casey out of her room, when she spoke.
“Where’d you get the photo from?”
“It’s none of your business,” replied Adrianna curtly.
Casey rolled her eyes. “Well wherever you got it from, the woman in the photo looks eerily like you,” she commented before pausing to look at the picture again. “You have similar facial features; in particular you two both have the same eye colour and the same stupid smile when you get all giddy. Ha, it looks like I’m probably right about you being adopted all this time.”
Adrianna was about to counter her remark when what she said suddenly dawned on her. Her eyes widened as she snatched the photo out of Casey’s hands. For a long time, she stared at the photograph before she walked to the dresser that stood at the opposite end of her bed.
At first, when she looked into the mirror, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but when she took a closer look at herself, her heart nearly stopped for the second time in one day. She did have some resemblance with the woman in the picture.
Adrianna drummed her fingers against the wooden desktop as she tried to focus on her biology homework. Nearly ten minutes has past and she was still reading the same sentence on molecular genetics. It seemed that the more she stared at her textbook, the more frustrated she became. Each time she tried to concentrate on the words, her thoughts would wander straight back to the photograph and how it might be connected to her.
Was she really adopted? Or was it purely a fluke? Maybe it was someone who just looked like her? But then why would she have the exact same gold bracelet as the woman in the picture?
No matter how many questions Adrianna asked herself, it all seemed to lead back to the same answer that she dreaded to acknowledge—the possibility that she was adopted. Still nothing was set in stone until she could get her parents to verify this theory.
Later that evening, when both of Adrianna’s parents had entered the house, she rushed to the foyer and planted her feet in front of them. With her arms crossed, she spoke in a serious tone, “Mom. Dad. We need to talk.”
Her mother looked at her in surprise. “What’s this about?” she asked inquisitively while studying her daughter’s facial expression. “Did someone give you trouble at school?”
“Yeah kiddo, what’s wrong? You look upset,” added her dad with a concerned look on his face.
Adrianna bit the bottom of her lips before she blew out a slow shaky breath. “Well I’m not sure if something is exactly wrong...” she said hesitantly. “It really depends on your answer to a question I have.”
Her mother frowned slightly at the way her daughter was acting in front of her. She looked nervous and uncertain about something. It was definitely not the typical level-headed girl she knew her to be. Determined to find out what it was, she pressed on further. “And what is this question you have for me?”
Adrianna decided not to beat around the bushes for any longer then she had to and asked her question. “Was I adopted?” she blurted out.
For a split second, both her parents turned to look at each other. While her dad’s eyebrows pulled together in confusion, her mom had puckered her lips together as if she had tasted something sour in mouth. Through eye contact alone, both of them were silently questioning the other on who had told their daughter about that tidbit of information.
Just from those expressions alone, it was all Adrianna needed to confirm the answer to her question. She shook her head in disbelief and took a step back. “I...I can’t believe you never told me!” she yelled angrily.
Her mom immediately sprang to action and took a couple of steps towards her. “You need to calm down Adrianna.” she ordered. “I don’t know where you got your sources from but it seems to me that you are overreacting to something you don’t know much about.”
Adrianna gritted her teeth in frustration. She absolutely hated it when her mom spoke in that conceding tone of voice to her. It was extremely annoying and it often made her want to yank her hair out. She wasn’t a client or defendant in a court room, she was her daughter... Or at least she used to think she was.
“When were you planning to tell me?” demanded Adrianna. “This week? Next month? Next year? Never?” She gave a humorless laugh as she continued to back away. “I can’t believe I never realized it before! I can’t believe I had to learn this out from a photograph. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Oh sweetie we were going to tell you,” said her dad softly as he tried to approach her. “It was in our best intention to tell you when you turned eighteen. We always wanted you to have a normal life.”
By now, tears were starting to form in Adrianna’s eyes, blurring her vision. She quickly wiped it away with her sleeve in anger. “Yeah, but now I know that my whole life is a lie,” she said hoarsely before she turned around and ran into the kitchen where she could exit through the back door.
“Adrianna! Where are you going?” shouted her mom as she chased after her.
“Leave me alone!” she yelled back while yanking the silver door open. “I want to be anywhere but here!” And with that she slammed the door shut.
Adrianna didn’t know how long she was running for, but by the time she stopped to catch her breath, the grey-blue sky was beginning to transform into a shade of pale pink. It was a beautiful sight to withhold, but it was hard to enjoy the scenery when her muscles were cramping up from the run. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and rested her head against a tree trunk.
For a long time, Adrianna stood absolutely still while she breathed in the crisp piney smell of the forest and listened to the sounds of nature around her. It instantly soothed her mind and started to calm her down. The vast outdoor always seemed to have a way of making her feel tranquil, even at her lowest point. She unconsciously smiled. It was her therapy to external stress.
When Adrianna opened her eyes again, she glanced around the area to take in her surroundings. She almost jumped out of her skin when she saw a worn down tree house covered in leaves and vines to her left. Her eyes widened in shock as she approached the base of the tree containing the little wooden playhouse. Memories flashed through her mind like fireworks as she traced her fingers against the bottom of the ladder. One memory in particular stood out from it all...
It was autumn time and many of the trees leaves were changing colours and falling to the ground. The weather was a lot colder than a few months ago, which meant that little Adrianna had to wear a small pink jacket everywhere she went. She didn’t mind it of course; nothing could stop her from going to her tree house and seeing Nono.
When Adrianna followed the yellow spray painted arrows to her tree house, she found her friend standing at the base of the tree house. She squealed happily before she ran up to him and gave him a hug. He was still stiff when she embraced him, but wasn’t as bad as a couple of months ago.
“Oh you are getting better at hugging Nono!” she said with a smile.
The dark haired boy rolled his eyes at her, trying to hide his own smile. “Yeah, whatever.”
Adrianna giggled as she suddenly remembered the object she had brought with her. She bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement as she spoke animatedly, “Oh guess what Nono? Guess what? Guess what?!”
The boy raised an eyebrow at all her enthusiasm. He wasn’t sure if he could handle her bright personality at the moment. “What? Your parents got you another toy today?” he asked with sarcasm dripping in his voice.
Adrianna giggled again. “No silly! Today is Thanksgiving!” she said with a grin on her face. When the boy only stared at her blankly in response to her announcement, her smile quickly faded away. “What’s wrong? Don’t you know what Thanksgiving is?” she asked curiously.
The boy didn’t reply, instead he shrugged his shoulders a little.
By now Adrianna was used to seeing him react expressionlessly when he didn’t know something. She could tell he didn’t like admitting to it, but she was determined to make him learn new things anyways. “Okay, so Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for all the things you have and for the people around you. Families usually get together and have a super large dinner with lots and lots of turkey,” she explained.
The boy continued to stare at her blankly. “What’s the point of that? It’s stupid. Only an idiot would be thankful for the life they have. What if you don’t have anything to be thankful for?” he questioned.
Adrianna frown at the mean words he was saying about it. She bit the bottom of her lips to stop herself from crying at his hurtful remarks, even though they weren’t exactly directed at her. “Well you have to have something you are thankful for! The house you live in, the food you eat, the parents you have? Anything?”
When the boy shook his head again, Adrianna pouted. “Well I am thankful for something! And one of the things I am thankful for is having you pop into my tree house. Okay, so maybe I didn’t like you before and sometimes I don’t like you because you can be very mean, but you spend time playing with me, so I am thankful for having you here,” she stated happily.
The boy shifted awkwardly in silence. Instead of looking at her, he glanced down at his black shoes and kicked a pebble to the side. “Yeah, whatever, I’m going to go.” he mumbled in reply before he turned away from her.
Adrianna sniffled and let out a loud sob. “Oh but you didn’t even get my gift yet!” she cried as she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a black teardrop-shaped necklace. Her friend glanced back over his shoulders and for a moment, he stared at the object she was holding. Then he looked up at her sad expression and instantly sighed. “Uh thanks,” he said while taking the necklace from her.
When Nono accepted her present, Adrianna started to smile again. “Well do you like it?” she asked.
The boy scratched his head. “Not really, it’s kind of pointless if you ask me,” he replied nonchalantly. “I still don’t get why you gave it—” He stopped in the middle of his sentence when he saw Adrianna’s bottom lip tremble and her eyes brimming with tears. “Oh, no, no, no. Don’t cry! I mean I like it! It is very...um very nice in shape?” he said in an unsure voice.
“You’re lying!” wailed Adrianna. “You just said you don’t like it and then you change your mind?”
“No! I was joking you know. I like it a lot! Really I do!” he said in panic as he tried to switch topics. “Hey you know what I’m thankful of Addie?”
“What?” she asked while trying to wipe her tears away.
“I’m thankful for meeting you too,” he replied with half-hearted smile.
Adrianna frowned slightly. “Are you lying to make me feel better?” she asked suspiciously.
The boy shook his head vehemently as if his life depended on it. “No I’m not lying and as a gift, I’ll tell you my name.”
Adrianna’s eyes widened into large saucers when he told her that. “Really?”
“Yeah! But I will only tell you what it is if you stop crying,” he replied back. When she nodded and completely dried off her tears, he spoke again. “Alright my name is Xander okay?”
Adrianna immediately started to smile again. While her eyes were a little red, there were no other hints on her face that indicated that she had been crying earlier. “Okay Sander!”
The boy gave her an annoyed look. “It’s Xander, not Sander,” he grumbled unhappily.
She nodded and gave him a quick hug. “Alright bye Sander! Thanks for the greatest present in the world!” And with that, she followed the path home.
The snapping of a branch shook Adrianna out of her memories and into the present. She looked around to seek out the source of the noise, but everything was completely still. The only thing that was starting to become a concern to her was the darkening of the sky. The sun had now dipped past the horizon, reducing the visibility around her.
Anyone with a brain knew that it wasn’t safe to stay out in the forest past sunset. And although Adrianna was reluctant to part with the wildlife around her, she was definitely not stupid. There was always the risk of getting lost in such a heavily wooded area or getting attacked by an animal. The latter was probably the least likely to happen, but that didn’t mean it doesn’t occur. So with that in mind, she tried her best to make her way out of the forest.
Adrianna didn’t walk for more than two minutes when she heard the snapping sound again. Her breathing increased rapidly as she scanned around the vicinity to determine where the sound had came from. Unfortunately by now it was nearly impossible to gauge her surroundings due to the lack of light. The only thing she had to work with was the luminosity from her cell phone.
When Adrianna started to walk faster, the cracking sound echoed around her once more. At that point, adrenaline was pumping through her body, making her heart race a mile a minute. Then without thinking, she began to blindly sprint down the gnarled path.
Adrianna didn’t get very far when a dark figure appeared in the middle of the pathway. She immediately took a step back and tripped on one of the knotted tree roots. Pain instantly spread throughout her body like fire as she connected with the ground. It quickly dulled when she glanced up to see the figure slinking towards her.
When Adrianna saw what it was, her face paled drastically.
It was a mountain lion.
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A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I tried to make this chapter a little bit longer to make it up to you guys. Anyways, thanks so much to everyone whose reading this and supporting me! You guys are amazing, I couldn't ask for better readers. Hopefully I'll update the next chapter in roughly a week and a half, depends on how busy I get. Oh and let me know if there are any mistakes in my chapters because as I was going back I did catch a few. As always, vote, comment and/or fan if you enjoy it!