Page 5

Nothing was that simple. It would never be that simple.

After about an hour, Nick came back into the room, but he had no answers. He said he had called the police to see if there were any reports of missing children, and that he had tried the hospital too to see if any parents had called looking for their child.

It was a dead end, no one had yet.

No one is looking for me. . .

My eyes began to well up, the water bubbling over the surface and teetering on the thin edge of my lids. Dipping my head into my chest, I tried not to cry. I didn't want to let myself get worked up again just because the answers hadn't jumped out right away.

But I couldn't ignore the feelings that came over me. I felt lost and abandoned, unloved, unwanted and not missed.

What type of parents did I have?

Why weren't they looking for me?

You don't know anything yet. Maybe I haven't been missing for that long? Maybe I'm supposed to be somewhere else and they haven't noticed I'm gone yet.

But I don't look like I just vanished, it looks like I've been out here for a while.

Maybe I ran away. . .

“Don't let this get you down,” Nick said, tipping my head up so he could look me in the eyes. “This doesn't end here, we'll keep looking. For now, you're welcome to stay with us for as long as you need to.”

“I can't thank you enough for this. I don't know where I'd go or what I'd do if you hadn't found me.”

“Our home is your home, you don't have to worry about having nothing.” Smiling, he nudged my chin with his fist. “I'm going to make sure that no matter what, you're taken care of.”

Nick made me feel welcomed, he made me feel safe in their home. There was an extra bedroom I could use, and Birch gave me some clean clothes to wear.

And even though I was scared, sad, angry—painfully aware of the fact that no one was out there looking for me yet; having this family beside me felt good.

Tomorrow was a new day. The police would help me, they would get it out there that a young girl was desperately seeking the family she had lost. My memories would eventually come back, and all of this would be behind me. . .

Luck was a funny thing. It either rained on you day after day or left you out to dry and turn to dust.

But my luck, it was backwards. My luck had delivered me to a family, it had dropped me into the lives of people who cared about me even though they didn't know me.

It had erased what I knew and gave me something special.

Maybe what's behind me isn't worth finding at all.

Nick arched a brow, rubbing his chin in thought. “We need to call you something until we find out who you are. What do you want us to call you?”

“I. . . I don't know.”

“Well, you need a name, little one. How about Julie?” Scrunching my face, I furrowed my brows. That name didn't fit, it just didn't feel like me. “Okay, that's a no.” Taking a step back, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Bella? That's a nice name.”

“What about Cyprus?” Birch chimed in, pushing the yearbook across the table and turning in his seat. “You were under a Cyprus tree when I found you, it's a pretty name.”

Cyprus. . . I like it.

One year later

“Hey, I've got something to show you.” Birch poked my shoulder and smirked. “Come on, follow me.”

Placing the magazine on my thighs, I pushed my sunglasses up. “Follow you where?”

“It's a surprise.”