The next afternoon Evie nervously stared out the little window of the airplane as it taxied onto the runway at Orlando International Airport. Last night, Pippa had taken her two sisters out to dinner and calmly explained what was about to happen. The girls listened quietly and seriously. CPS had been called on their parents before, but this time was different. They'd always been able to stay with their parents during the investigations but not now. Apparently it was bad enough this time that they couldn't stay.
Evie felt her older sister take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze as the flight attendants did one last check for seat belts. She turned her head and gave Pippa a small smile. Thank goodness she had come for them. If she hadn't who knows where she and Stella would have ended up. Some foster care home and maybe not even together.
Pippa had explained that her new boyfriend, Lin-Manuel, had moved in with her a couple months before. Evie knew who he was because anyone who didn't live under a rock knew who he was. He was the mastermind behind Hamilton and In The Heights. He was a flipping genius and seemed really nice. They had never met him because Pippa had been estranged from their parents. Evie and Stella were both curious about him.
"Are you sure Lin's okay with us staying there?" Evie asked Pippa worriedly. Pippa squeezed her hand again.
"Of course," she assured her. "He's excited that you're both coming. He's been wanting to meet you for months. I talk about you two all the time."
"You do?" Evie asked, surprised.
Pippa nodded, smirking at all the fond memories she had of her sisters. "He probably thinks he already knows you. And he's super sweet. He's clearing out the guest bedroom as we speak so you can have a space to yourselves."
Evie thought that was super nice of him. From what she'd seen from his Twitter, TV appearances and Youtube, he seemed really cool. Pippa seemed to have picked a good guy. She just hoped he was as nice as he seemed.
Pippa turned to check on Stella on the other side of her. She was slouched in her seat, busy with her iPad. Not playing games like most other kids would be. Stella was a reader. She got through several books a week usually.
"Whatcha reading?" Pippa asked her. Stella smiled a little and turned the screen so she could see.
"Kate DiCamillo," she reported. "One of my favorite authors. This is her new one."
Pippa smiled. She remembered reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane aloud to them before she left for New York.
"Cool," she said, patting her sister's leg. "Why don't you sit up while the plane is taking off."
Stella followed directions, pushing herself up in her airplane seat. Soon the plane picked up speed and they all watched Orlando start to pass them by quickly. When they landed in a couple hours they'd be in New York City, trying to navigate a temporary new life together.
Evie pulled out her phone and plugged in her earbuds, pulling up some music. She was playing her favorite song, She Used To Be Mine. Evie felt like that represented a lot of her life. She used to be so different when she was little. Happy and carefree. Then she started to be serious about dance and everything changed. Her parents had started to get crueler to her and towards Stella.
"Evie? Are you okay?" Pippa whispered. She looked up towards her older sister, and noticed that there were tears falling down her cheeks.
"Yeah," Evie nodded, leaning her head on Pippa's shoulder. Pippa stroked her sister's dark hair.
A couple hours later, the plane was beginning its descent in New York City and Evie and Stella got their first glimpse of NYC.
"Wow," Stella whispered, grinning. "It's so big." Pippa nods.
"So, we'll get our bags, and then we will hail a cab and head home," Pippa explained. Evie felt panic rise inside of her. Home? She wasn't quite ready to declare Pippa's apartment as her home. For her, home was still in Libertyville. Her parents may have been cruel, but it was still her home. She wasn't quite ready to just pretend that her parents never existed.
"Where do you live?" Stella asked.
"Washington Heights," Pippa replied. "In an apartment." Stella nodded and followed Pippa to the baggage collection.
The three siblings grabbed their bags and headed outside where Pippa quickly hailed a cab. She told the driver the address and he drove them there pretty quickly.
The three girls pulled their bags out and Pippa paid the driver. They rode the elevator up to Pippa's floor, and Pippa lead them towards the apartment.
"Welcome, girls," Pippa said, opening the door. Evie and Stella walked into the apartment and got their first look. There were lots of windows, giving the place a natural feel.
"So, I'm sorry, but we only have one guest bedroom, so you'll have to share. There are two twin beds in the room, though, so you'll at least have your own bed," Pippa explained.
"Oh, that's fine!" Stella smiled.
"Yeah," Evie agreed. Neither of them wanted to cause their sister trouble. She was already taking them in.
"Okay, great," Pippa said. "Lin? I'm back with Evie and Stella!" A man came running out of a room, which was probably the guest room.
"Evie! Stella!" He smiled, giving each of them a hug in return. Both girls were a bit taken aback, but they both returned the hug. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you. I'm Lin, by the way."
"Evie," Evie waved shyly.
"I'm Stella," Stella said, much more enthusiastically.
"Was your flight okay?" He asked them all, giving Pippa a quick kiss on the cheek.
"It was fine," Pippa said. "Could you help the girls take their bags to their room? Then I'm sure they'd like to settle in and relax."
"Of course," he smiled at the girls, wanting them to feel welcome. Pippa had told him little about her family life and from what he understood about the situation it was toxic. Pippa seemed so sweet and level headed. She'd turned out successfully and well-adjusted perhaps despite her upbringing.
Lin picked up the girls' two bags and carried them down the hall as they followed. "I've been cleaning it up a bit today," he told them. "It's become a bit of a junk room unfortunately."
New York City didn't have much extra space so the empty room had attracted all their stuff. Lin managed to find some nooks and crannies to move the items to so they'd have some room. None of them were sure how long they'd be staying. Maybe the investigation would be over in a week or maybe they'd never go back. It was anyone's guess.
Evie and Stella stepped inside the modest but inviting room. They had a big window with sunlight pouring in. Two matching twin beds sat on opposite sides of the room with a dresser and a desk. Otherwise it was pretty sparse.
"Here we are," he announced, setting one bag on each bed. The girls could decide who slept where. Lin put his hands on his hips, looking at the two girls. They looked nervous and out of place. He was sure they were overwhelmed.
"I'll give you two a minute. When you're ready, come on out and we'll have some lunch," he said. The girls nodded and said thank you politely.
Evie stood, arms crossed, not sure what to do as her sister sat on a bed. She bounced a little, testing it out as she smiled. Evie watched her sister easily settling into the situation. Sometimes she was jealous of how easy going her little sister was. She didn't seem as bothered by things that completely threw her off.
"Can this be my bed?" Stella asked her big sister hopefully.
"Sure," she replied, plopping on the opposite one. Stella looked at her big sister and could sense she was having a hard time.
"You okay?" She asked, tucking her hands under her legs. Evie sighed and let herself fall backwards to lay down.
"I don't know," she said honestly. "I mean, this is supposed to be our home now? And we're just supposed to be okay with it?"
Stella was quiet, biting her lip. She crossed the room and laid down with her sister. "Well, we could just think about it as a vacation for a while."
"But it's not," Evie reminded her seriously. "Mom and Dad might be in real trouble."
"Good," Stella retorted. She was much less forgiving of their parents than Evie was. She saw what they'd been doing to Evie and it wasn't right.
Evie sighed and closed her eyes. "I wanna go home."
There was a knock at the door. Pippa stepped in and closed the door, finding her sisters laying together. She sat on the edge by their feet and reached out to gently rub their legs.
"It's gonna be okay," she said gently, skipping the small talk. "I know this is scary. Are you feeling okay?"
"Evie wants to go home," Stella reported, sitting up.
"Shut up, Stella!" Evie shoved her. She didn't want to be rude or appear ungrateful.
"It's okay," Pippa said, moving closer and tugging Stella into her lap. "You're gonna have some complicated feelings. They're our parents and we love them and you might even miss them. But we all know they're not treating you right."
"It all just sucks," Evie mumbled. "Why can't they be normal?"
Pippa wished she knew and could somehow change them. They'd had plenty of chances to change their ways and they hadn't. They were abusive.
"I wish I knew," Pippa sighed, patting Evie's leg. "Why don't we go grab some lunch and then you can get unpacked."
Stella was famished so she hopped off Pippa's lap to head to the kitchen. Pippa turned to Evie, sensing she wasn't ready.
"Take your time," she said gently, rubbing her leg some more.
Evie turned onto her side. "I'm not hungry."
"Okay," Pippa whispered. "That's fine. I'll be out in the kitchen if you need me." Evie ignored Pippa. She felt the bed shift from Pippa's weight leaving it, and heard the door open and close. Evie sighed, relieved to be alone at last. When she was alone, she didn't have to appear to be happy about the situation. She could just mope.
Of course Evie was grateful to her older sister and her boyfriend for being so willing to take her and Stella in on such short notice. But, her whole life was in Libertyville. And although her parents were abusive, they were still her parents and she loved them.
Evie picked up her phone, and noticed that she had a text from her best friend, Madison.
Madison: Evie, where did you go? Why aren't you still at the hotel?
Madison was also a dancer, and danced at Evie's studio. Both girls participated on the competition team. Evie flung her phone across the room. Luckily, it landed on Stella's bed. Everything she was feeling came out in a rush of tears.
Evie might not go home for a long time. Even if she did, her life wouldn't be good. Every time, after CPS had finished their investigation, and nothing had happened to her and Stella, her parents were even more abusive to them.
Obviously, Evie wanted to go back to Libertyville. Mrs. Holland and her dance studio were there. So were Madison, and the rest of her friends. But she was terrified about what would happen if she did return. Would she even be able to dance? Or would her parents pull her out? After all, Mrs. Holland had started the whole investigation, and it seemed far more serious than any others that the Soos have gone through.
Before she knew it, a couple of hours had passed. Evie heard a gentle knock on the door, and her older sister say her name.
"Come in," Evie whispered, wiping her eyes, and pushing herself up.
"I have some food," Pippa said, holding up a plate with a sandwich and chips. "You must be hungry."
Evie nooded, and so Pippa passed the plate over to her. Evie picked up the sandwich and took a bite out of it.
"Evie, I know this is hard for you. And I know that Stella not having a difficult time with this is making you feel guilty." Evie nodded. "It's okay to have a hard time. People deal with things differently. I'm here if you need to talk."
With that, Pippa left the room, and Evie was left alone again. Evie stood up, crossed the room, and picked up her phone from Stella's bed.
Evie: Hey, Mads. I had to leave. Some stuff came down with my family. Don't worry, Stella and I are safe. We're in New York with my older sister, who's an adult.
Evie started crying again when the full magnitude of what was happening hit her. She might have to move to New York, make new friends, change schools and dance studios. Evie felt indebted to Mrs. Holland and didn't want to leave her.
Evie had a hard time with change. Even though she knew her parents were toxic, she didn't want anything to change.
Would her life ever be the same?