-Lea's POV-
"Lea!" I hear a squeal coming from behind me.
"Holy fuck!" I say and run up to her, throwing my backpack down.
"I missed you so freaking much!" she yells.
"I missed you too! I can't believe that you're actually here!" I pull myself away from her grip to grab my backpack.
I give her a closer look.
Her then long black hair are short with dark pink strands. She had pierced her ears like seven times and she wore a billion rings and bracelets. But what impressed me the most was the change in her clothes. She was all dressed in black. Black short shorts, black tied T-shirt, black converse. Black everything.
"Emily, you've changed." I smile at her.
"For the best I hope." she returns the smile. "After I stopped drugs, I decided that I had to change."
She was so right. I changed too after I stopped with all these things.
"But I really need to ask." she says. "You called and said that you wanted us to meet later and in New Zealand. Why?"
Here we go. Now I have to explain her everything.
"But first, let's leave the port, okay? Let's walk a bit and I'll tell you everything." I say.
I put my backpack over my shoulder and we start walking to a cafe nearby.
We order coffee and something to eat and we start talking.
"You have a sister? Here in New Zealand?" she exclaims after I have explained everything to her.
"Yeah. I left without warning and now they're probably going to be worried to death but I couldn't tell them where I was going." I take a sip of my coffee as I push the plate away from me since I'm done with my eggs.
"And why don't you call them?" she asks.
"How didn't I think of that?" I exclaim. "Oh wait, I did." I say and push my phone towards her.
"No need to be sarcastic." she says as she looks at my dead phone. "And you always had that thing about charging your cell."
I laugh at her remark. She still knows me as good as she did then. It's not that much actually. Just two months.
Wait, two months? That means... I have to go back to America for the last year of school.
No, no, no, no. I can't go back there. I-I just can't. And not with her. And what about Luke and the others? What about them? And Calum? I just got him back, I can't leave him now. Ashton? No, I can't leave him. What am I gonna do without his ridiculous giggles? Michael and his hair? I need to be there when he changes his hair colour again. And most importantly Luke? What am I gonna do without him? He's like my rock. The only thing that keeps me alive, that allows me to live and not just exist.
"Lea, honey, are you okay?" Emily's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah, why?" I ask, my voice cracking in the end.
"Because you were lost for five minutes-" she says but I cut her off.
"Yeah, I was just thinking." I force a smile.
"I didn't finish. Your eyes were wide open and..." she reaches for my cheek "...you were crying."
I reach for my cheek, feeling the tears run down my cheeks and falling on the table.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go find Emma now." I say and stand up, throwing half of the money on the table and Emily throwing the other half.
"How do you know she was here?" Emily asks running to catch up with me.
"My father is from New Zealand. He had brought us here when I was little. I just did a little research for his house." I explain as we walk to my dad's house.
"No, I mean, how did you know she was here and not in Africa." she says.
I chuckle. She always chooses Africa to talk about the other end of the world.
"Well, after dad couldn't have us, he would like to be a part of Chloe's life. Obviously, he was in Australia for a business trip but I held him back there. He needed to leave soon and then come back. I just had a feeling he was going to come here."
"And you really do trust your feelings." she laughs.
"Of course I do. If you remember, it was my feeling that led me to talk to you." I say reminding her the day we first met.
"You asked for a pen. And I was sitting next to you." she furrows her eyebrows.
"Yes, but I chose to ask you for a pen." I close my eyes and nod my head proving my point.
"Whatever." she giggles.
After walking for what looked like twenty minutes we reached out destination.
"And now what?" Emily asks as we walk to the door of the house.
It was just like I remembered it. The swings in the yard, the benches. The walls were painted in a dirty sugary white colour and the door had the same silver handle as when I last came here, when I was five. It was like I was reliving every single memory I had from this place and it took me all the strength I had not to break down.
Even the bell had the same annoying 'ding dong' sound.
~~
-Luke's POV-
"Guys, I think I know where Lea is."
The all look up at me surprised.
"John, where is Chloe right now?" I turn to Lea's father.
"New Zealand. I don't understand, what does that have to do with my girl?" he asks with tears in his eyes.
"Because this is where Lea is." I say, way too sure for myself.
"How do you know?" Calum asks, without even looking at me.
"Please Cal, just please, for one fucking time in your life trust me." I yell at him.
"So what?" Janet asks "We are going to New Zealand?"
"No. We are staying here and we wait until she comes back." I say. "This is something she has to do alone, you guys."
"Hey, Janet?" John says to her. "Happy eighteenth birthday."
Janet looks up at him.
"27 of July." John says and Janet smiles.
"It's your birthday?" Ashton asks her.
"Yeah. And I'm officially an adult." she smirks.
Ashton walks to the fridge and hand Janet a beer.
"And you are legal." he grins.
"Let's throw a party!" Ross yells and starts running around the house with Ashton behind him.
I wish Lea was here to see this.
~~
-Lea's POV-
"Just a moment." a voice yells and a moment later the door opens to reveal a woman.
She looks like she's at her early forties but she is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Her eyes are a deep blue, like the sea when it comes to a storm, and her black hair are tied up in a messy bun.
"Can I help you?" she asks with a warm smile.
"Are you Rose Harper?" I choke out.
I don't really know how to handle the situation.
"That's me." she says and gives me a closer look.
"I'm Lea Taker. And we need to ta-" I begin to say but she cuts me off by closing the door in my face.
"You need to listen to me!" I start banging the door and shouting. "I didn't come here to accuse you for anything! I have the right to know the truth from all sides." I stop banging at the door and start crying. "I need to know what really happened. Please, just please. I need to know."
Finally she gives in and opens the door.
"Why are you really here?" she asks.
"I'm here because I need to see you. And Chloe."
She looks at me surprised.
"You- you know?" she asks me.
"Yes. And I think that leaving with you is one of the most right things dad has made in his life." I breath out.
"You look a lot like him, you know. You have his eyes." she smiles at me.
I return the smile and she motions for me to come in.
"But first, I need to ask you something. How did you find me?"
I explain to her the whole situation and we sit on the couch. She offers Emily and I drinks and then I introduce us to her properly.
"Emily, I have to admit it, I love your hair." Rose smiles and so does Emily.
"Now, can you please tell me what happened? I wanna know the story for all sides. I already know Laura's and dad's, but I don't know yours."
"Okay, so as you know I had a boyfriend and that night I found out that he was cheating on me..." she begins to say.
-Flashback- [ROSE'S POV]
I went for shopping. We were out of milk and bread and as usual, Jackson was out drinking.
I don't really know why I'm putting up with him. He's an abusive son of a bitch but I really hope that one day he would change. This is the only reason I'm staying here with him.
I enter our apartment and set the bags on the kitchen table. As I begin to put everything in the cupboards, I hear a loud noise coming from inside.
I instantly call the police and grab a knife. I walk to the bedroom since I the noise I heard was coming from there. And then I saw him. He was cheating on me at our own bed.
He pushes the slut off of him and runs towards my direction.
"Baby, I'm so sorry. So so sorry." he says and tries to hold my hand but I pull away.
"Don't you dare to touch me again, you bastard! I'm ashamed that you can be called a human being." I spit out, so harshly that I thought it would break him.
"Rose, baby, I'm sorry." he apologises again but I don't buy it. Not this time. Not again.
"This time you got caught. I know when you're really sorry. And right now, you're not." I spit out again. "I'll be back at dawn. I want you out of my house by then. Understood?"
I don't give him the time to react as I rush out of the apartment without him even trying to follow me.
-End of Flashback-
"Rose, that's just.. That's just terrible." Emily says trying hard not to cry. She's a sensitive soul. So am I but she's more.
"No, actually, it's not. It gave me the chance to leave the bastard being and live a real life." Rose says.
"So, what happens next?" I ask, eager to learn the rest of the story.
"Then, I got to this bar thing..."
-Flashback- [ROSE'S POV]
I start running around the town. I don't really know where to go, who to turn to. I had no real friends, only Jackson's. And then, I noticed a bar.
This is exactly what I need. Alcohol. I get in and sat on a chair and order a double whiskey.
"Why are you crying?" the woman asks while she was putting me my drink.
"My dousebag of a boyfriend cheated on me in our own bed." I say trying to wipe the tears of my cheeks.
"That son of a bitch!" she exclaims. "I'm Amanda by the way."
Then, I give her a closer look. Her hair are died blonde and curly and she wears too much make up. But she looks nice.
"Rose." I say and empty the whiskey from the glass at one sip.
She refills the glass and we talk and laugh for a while until a really good looking guy approaches me.
"Why is a pretty girl like you drinking such a strong drink?" he asks me.
The barwoman smiles at the guy and he greets with a 'hello Amanda".
For a second I thought I shouldn't tell him, but they say that it's easier to talk to a stranger. So, I decide to tell him everything.
"He's an ass you know." he says. "Don't let him take over your life. Men like him are not for women like you."
"Thanks Mrs I-don't-know-you." I smile at him.
"John." he says and takes a sip of whatever he was drinking.
"Rose."
-End of Flashback-
"This is how I met your father."Rose says and runs a hand through her raven black hair.
"I understand that this is hard for you, but I really need to know Mrs Harper." I say.
"Rose. Call me Rose."
"Rose." I smile. "Like the flower."
Rose returns the smile and continues the narration.
"After a couple of drinks, things got a little out of hand..."
-Flashback- [ROSE'S POV]
We started drinking together and laughing, talking about our relationships that failed. And then it happened. Actually, it was my fault.
I kissed him. And he kissed me back. The kiss got more and more heated and soon we needed a room to get satisfied.
The next morning was something hard for both of us. We couldn't remember anything that had happened. The only evidence was the room we had shared and the fact that we woke up naked.
"I'm married." he says to me as we wake up.
This was the word that broke me down. He has someone and I have no one. No one to take care of me, no one to care.
-End of Flashback-
"But I got over it." Rose said. "The scary thing came two months later when I found out I was pregnant. But John wanted to be there. I don't know what really happened but John just came to stay here after the birth. Some time later, he got a job here and we moved in New Zealand."
"Thank you. I mean, it really means a lot. Telling me a story that hurt you so much in the past." I say and stand up.
"No, don't leave yet. You haven't even met Chloe. She is lucky enough to know the story." Rose says.
"Oh, no. I came here for her mostly, but I don't think it's the best time to-" I get cut off by a girl voice.
"Mum, I'm home."
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Yay, long chapter. What happens now? Sorry for the cliffhanger.
Now, I have to thank you. Sing to me reached like 1K readers and I'm so so so excited. Thank you people! I actually thought no one would ever read my stories because they would suck but youp proved me wrong. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
Ps: Am I the only one that thinks of Clifford every time I see cliffhanger?