Louisa Lloyd

"Louisa, honey, we have to leave!"

Angela's voice echoes around my empty room as I look around the bare walls and sigh in disappointment. This has been my room, my sanctuary since I was ten years old, I've created some important memories here. But of course, Louisa doesn't get to decide where she wants to live.

She just gets bossed around, like always.

"Coming!" I shout back to let know Angela I heard her. "Give me a few minutes."

Footsteps can be heard from outside as she walks away from my door, giving me some time to think and digest everything that has happened these past few weeks.

One, I'm adopted. Yep, the two people I've been calling mom and dad since day one aren't my real parents.

Two, I have- well had- a family back in this town called Beacon Hills. I don't even know where it is, I've never heard that name in my life before. This is too much for someone like me. And with someone like me I mean someone who hates contact with other human beings that are not family or very close friends, someone who hates speaking in public or even looking at someone in the eye.

The doctors call it social anxiety. I call it weirdness. I'm weird. Always been, always will be. Louisa, the weirdo everyone looks down to, the weirdo everyone makes fun of.

The weirdo with zero friends and a scar on her arm. A large scar. On her left arm. That's me. Louisa Loyd. Nice to meet you, now can you please close the door on your way out?

I sigh and stand from my safe spot near the window. This is where I used to sit for hours and read, listen to some music and watch movies. All night long, without worries. Angelina and Brett let me do whatever I want, but I have to be a good student and take care of myself.

Translation: no trouble.

I can do it, I've done it for 16 years and counting. I'm used to this feeling, being thrown around by everyone, always the outcast, the girl no one wants to be with.

As I rest my forehead on the window and look outside, Angela and Brett knock on my door and enter side by side, holding a small box, laced with red and white flowers. A tiny angel smiles at me from its lid and I smile nostalgically.

It's awfully familiar.

"What's that?" I ask, afraid of the answer.

"It was your mother's." Angela answers. "She asked us to give this to you when we told you everything about- about you and your family."

"I still don't understand one thing: how did you know my parents? And how did they die?" When they told me the amazing news, they let out some details, mainly about my family's death. "I really need to know."

The married couple in front of me hand me the small object and share a look. After staring at each other for a few seconds, I notice the silent conversation going on between them.

"I really really need to know."

Tearing their eyes from each other, Angela sighs and pats Brett's chest, sending him out of my once full of life room. She sits beside me and hugs me, circling her arms around my body, bringing my face to her shoulder.

"I know you want to know, but I'm not sure if you're ready. It's a complicated world, and your parent's world is even more complicated."

"I don't care if it's complicated, or if I'll end up hating them or anything. I want to know something about them so I can relate to them, so I can find something to hold on to when I want to remember them."

"Open it and I'll explain." She gives me a sad smile and waits for me to grab the lid and open the first thing I was given that belongs to my biological mother. "This shall not leave this room. Brett doesn't know, and neither do the children."

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this. Brett and Angela have three kids, and I consider him my brothers and sister. They were always nice to me but when the news reached their ears, the boys stopped talking to me, slowly fading away from my life. The younger one, Marianna, is the only one that still wants to have something to do with me.

Nice kid.

"Of course. But why can't they know?"

"Because it's a secret I promised to keep safe until you were ready to know. No one else. Just you." The look on her face tells me she's not joking so I promise not to tell a soul.

I close my eyes for a second and take a deep breath. After weeks of wondering what my real parents are like, I'm finally this close to finding out something about them.

"I can give you some space if you want to." She offers, a sad smile gracing her lips. "I just- I don't want you to forget us."

I deny.

"You've been my mother for years. I'm not going to simply forget about you. You and Brett took care of me when no one else did. So, for that and a lot more, I'm grateful. I'll never forget you." I smile at her, but the tears I've been hiding and ignoring for weeks finally come falling down my cheeks. "I'm just so sad that they're dead. I'm sad that you're not my biological family. I'm sad that my brothers and sisters are dead. I'm sad I am all alone in this world. I have to one left. Is my surname even Lloyd?"

She wipes the tears away from my face and kisses my forehead, sweetly caressing my hair. She looks like she's deep in thought before answering my question.

"Yes, darling. Don't doubt yourself, you're a proud Lloyd. Now, let's see what your mom store inside that tiny box." I give her a surprised look. "She gave me specific orders. You'll be the first to see its content."

I nod. Careful not to damage the delicate flowers, I unlock the safe and look inside it, gasping at the sight.

There are four objects inside the box: a photograph, a small pendant, a letter and a small statue of an angel. I choose the picture first, wanting to see some familiar faces. But the people in front of me aren't familiar at all.

To me, they're just people. I can't tell who my mom is, who my dad or even my sibling are.

"This is your mom." Angela points at a relatively young woman with floating blonde hair. "She was beautiful, just like you."

That I don't believe, but I don't want to ruin this moment so I keep this to myself.

"Tell me more about these people." I ask.

I stare at the image of my mother, finally realizing how alike we really are: we have the same nose, same electric green eyes and pink, full lips. She's smiling at the camera without a care in the world, holding a baby in her arms.

"This is you, Louisa." Angela proceeds to show me the rest of the picture, this time pointing at the baby. "And this is your dad, he was so happy that day. It was your first birthday and he was so excited to give you his present. Your mom and him both bought you different presents to see who knew you better. You ended up loving the boxes and forgot all about the actual presents."

I laugh at the image of little me playing with boxes instead of what came inside them. Typical me! I stare at myself in the photo and that's when I notice she and Brett are in the photograph as well, hidden behind my parents and me, smiling flirty at each other.

Some things never change.

"Who're these kids?"

"Wow, who should I start with?" We share a small laugh and she tells me all about my older siblings and friends.

She 'introduced' me to Daniella, Marie, Johnny and Lennard, my older siblings, Derek, Peter and Cora, some family friends. The only problem is I recognize this guy, Derek. I remember him. But I can't tell where I last saw him. Was it at school? No, he is older than me.

But I have a feeling this is not the last time I'll hear his name.

"Derek was your best friend when you were little." She says. "He'll be very happy to know you're alive."

"I'm sorry, what?" I ask. "He'll be happy to know I'm alive? What do you mean? Of course I'm alive!"

"There was a fire at the Hales and Lloyds' house. There were three families inside when someone shouted that there was a fire upstairs. The older ones ran to put an end to it but we never saw them again; we concluded they were too busy fighting the raging fire. It didn't take long for it to spread to the rest of the house, and we couldn't get out. The doors were locked and blocked from the outside, and some of the windows had bars in them to protect... Some of the Hales." She takes a deep breath and I can see the unshed tears in her eyes threatening to fall. "I was so scared... You were ten, I think, and I couldn't find any of my kids, or your parents! You were screaming, locked inside a bathroom. Susan and Louis were in the kitchen when it all happened and couldn't get you in time, so I grabbed you while Brett found our kids and we left as fast as we could."

She has a British accent. We live in London, of course she has an accent. But I do too, and the kids and Brett. Why do I have an accent if I was ten when the fire destroyed my entire life and family?

"This question has been bothering me for a while now." I start. "We live in London... Have been since the beginni-"

"We moved here six years ago, darling." She caresses my hair. "Brett booked a flight here a few days after- that fire. We had to stay behind to answer some questions but the we had to let the police do the rest. They never found the criminals. I'm sorry, it was probably our faul-"

"It was six years ago. And it wasn't your fault. All I can do is thank you, for saving my life. You could have left with your husband and kids but you took me with you." I pull her closer to me and hug her. "Thank you."

"You don't understand... It was partially my fault... I can't tell you more but... You'll understand soon."

I don't really get it, but let's just hope it's not something evil. Or weird. Yeah, let's hope so.

"We should get going." Angela suggests. "You can read the letter in the car, we have to take you to the airport and then you'll go to Beacon Hills. The place where everything happened."

"Fine."

Angela and I take my bags from the door and walk downstairs, passing by my sibl- well the others' rooms and Marianna sends me a quick wave and an apologetical smile. I'll miss this life, even though I'm not amazing and everything, this is all I've ever known. How am I supposed to start over? In America?!

I'm fine, I'll be okay. Alright, let's meet this supposed best friend who I shared everything with. Not my words, it's not like I remember, I was too young to even believe in fairy tales.

"Come on, Lou, you have a plane to catch!" Brett's voice sounds from the other side of the house as I say goodbye to Marianna.

The ride to the airport is quiet, and I want to wait until I'm on the plane to read the letter my mother left me. As I see my bags being taken away, reality finally winks in: I am really leaving the place I've called home since day one, or since I was ten.

"Please call us as soon as the plane lands." Angela says quickly, checking if everything's okay with me and my bags. "I love you, Louisa. You'll always be a daughter to me. See you soon."

She kisses my forehead and her husband steps forward to talk to me as well. He wraps his arms around my body and I rest my head on his chest. They will always be the most important people in my life, I love them for what they did for me.

As I enter the plane, I look back to find Angela and Brett staring at me, tears tuning down their faces. Just seeing them like this breaks my heart, but I want to know.

I deserve to know. I deserve to have something that can connect me to my family. But when doubts start filling my mind as the plane leaves the ground and the streets of London fade away, the endless ocean surrounding everything, I start playing with my fingers, a bad habit of mine when I'm nervous.

Looking out of the window, everything is blue: the sky, with no clouds in sight; and the ocean. I'm pretty sure I'd be able to see the amazing variety of species if I were to swim here. Oh, how cool would that be?

Okay, now it's time to read the letter. I search around my handbag- the only think I could bring with me to the seat- and pull out the box. The letter is a little old and tightly folded. I take a deep breath and let it all go, putting the locket around my neck, ready to start reading it.

Dear Louisa...

I know you're probably very confused about all of this, but I know Angela told you everything she could to make you understand what happened to our family. No, darling, it's not your fault.

Unfortunately, we have a lot of enemies and one of them managed to get to us and eliminate us. But they didn't eliminate you, my sweet child. I know that. I asked Angela to find you as soon as something bad happened and I believe she did that. I wrote this nonetheless.

I'm sure you have a lot of questions as to why someone would kill us and destroy our house. Well, as I said before, our enemies are not very kind. You'll find out soon.

I must say I'm very sad, because if you're reading this then it means I'm gone. Dead. Poof, Susan no more. Wow, now that's sad. Writing a letter knowing it will only be read when you're dead.

I know you probably don't remember what happened. It's part of the shock of the situation and maybe something more. House fire, it happens everyday right? At least three times a week in America.

But this one wasn't just an innocent house fire, it was planned. And you have to know the reason why. But this is not the time, I'm sure one of the Hales will tell you. I'm sure at least one of them survived, they were always so strong.

Your siblings loved you so much, and your father and I too. I want to tell you all about them and all the adventures you had together when you were a kid, but this piece of paper isn't long enough to express our love for you.

Marie, Daniella, Johnny and Lennard will always love you and be with you when you need them too. Like me and your father. We'll always be there to look out for you, don't doubt it.

You're an amazing girl and it saddens me I'll never get to talk to you again. We all love you, dear. Stay true to yourself, don't let anyone change you. Just be who you are.

Tell Angela and Brett I'm sorry... They weren't supposed to be there that day, they were innocent, they had nothing to do with that.

It's time for me to say goodbye. My heart hurts for you, my beautiful daughter, my beautiful Louisa. Daniella asked me to write something from her. She's the oldest of the five of you, and the only one that knows about what's to happen.

Here it goes. "Lou-Lou, I love you! Since day one when mom brought you home and showed you off to everybody. I'm so proud of you. I believe we will see each other again. Don't lose hope. Love you, little sis."

As Daniella wrote, we love you. Don't forget about us, dear. Try to remember. Ask people to visit our old house, maybe that'll trigger your mind.

Along with this letter is the family necklace. Open it to find a little surprise, and the photograph and the little angel... That's what you were to everyone, you were our little angel.

I wish you the best...

With all my love,
Mom.

So it's true... They were killed. I have to find out who did it and make them pay. They'll pay.

I have one question, and it's very... I don't know, this is all confusing and I can't think straight. But if my mom and dad died and Angela found me, how did this letter get to her? How did my mother give this to her? That is burning me alive. How did my mother know she'd die?

"Miss, do you need anything? You're a little pale." The flight assistant asks me with a worried look on her face.

"I'm fine, thank you." I shake my head and she sends me a smile before asking the same thing to some other man.

It doesn't take long for the plane to land, and before I can even think twice about leaving this machine, the same assistant hands me a small bottle of water and disappears behind the other passengers.

The first thing I do when I land in California is call Angela. Surprise of surprises, she doesn't pick up her phone. Oh, well! Now I just have to wait for this guy to come and get me. Derek.

I wait patiently for my bags as people around me talk in loud voices. My head starts hurting because of the noise and I cover my ears as if that can prevent the migraine from coming.

A very nice lady helps me with my bags and before I can thank her, she looks at me like I have two heads and points her finger at me.

"S-s-stay away f-from me!" She shouts and starts walking away.

Some people stare at the both of us in confusion, and I give them a shrug; how am I supposed to know what this was all about? I've been here for less than an hour and trouble has already found a way to get to me.

Great...

I feel a tap on my shoulder as my head starts throbbing. Turning into the ninja I always wanted to be, I turn around and almost rip the person's head off.

Okay, not really.

The boy that decided to give me a heart attack looks younger than I thought. Is this really Derek?

"Derek?" I ask.

"Nope." The boy shakes his head. "But he asked me to get you." He grabs my heavy bags like they're the lightest things in the entire world and starts walking in front of me.

"Are you going to tell me your name?"

He puts my stuff on a blue jeep and grabs my hand in his.

"I'm Scott, Scott McCall. And this is my best friend." He points at a boy sitting behind the wheel, smiling and waving at me like a maniac. "And that is-"

"Stiles Stilinski. Hello!"

Oh boy....

"I'm Louisa." I introduce myself and shake his outstretched hand. He pulls the front sit down and I climb to the backseat. Scott sits in the passenger seat and when we're about to leave, I ask them the question that's burning inside my brain. "Where's Derek?"

They share a suspicious look and Stiles looks at me from his seat behind the wheel. As he turn back to the road, his eyes fine Scott's once again, but none of them answer me.

"What? Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing wrong at all." Stiles says. "Nope, not even supernatural creatures running around at night. Everything's perfect."

Scott hits the back of his head and turns to face me.

"Believe me, he wanted to be here. But he had some complications back in Beacon Hills and couldn't make it. We'll take you to his house. But just a warning..."

"I don't think you'll like his house." Stiles finishes Scott's sentence.

These two are best friends. For sure. They have some serious we-do-everything-together-even-pee vibes going on.

"Why?"

The two teenage boys in front of me share another look before Stiles stops the car in a red light. They both sigh.

"Because it's all destroyed, the fire burnt it down, but it's still... Usable." They say simultaneously.

"Oh."

•^•^•^•^•^•

Sooooooo, how's this? I've had this idea on the mind since last year, when I started Wattpad. So I hope you liked it! I couldn't wait any longer, I had to update and give you a sample of what I'm going to write here!

I just have a question for you guys: do you like short or long chapters? Like, should I write two chapters for one episode or one episode per chapter?

Vote. Comment. :)