―ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕋𝕨𝕠―

Alike to the living room, the carpet of the floor was an ugly yellow. Unlike like sunshine yellow, this yellow was murky and darker, almost pee-like. For a second my heart stopped as I wondered whether or not this actually was pee. Waving it off, I understood that the entire carpet was this color and it would be impossible for urination to cover this much; thank god.

The walls peeled and chipped, no color other than white adorning it. In the corner, there was a single window covered by dark curtains revealing nothing of the outside world. No pictures or paintings were anywhere giving the room a sense of loneliness. Laying on the carpet with no frame was an unmade double mattress. Across from the double mattress was a lone wooden dresser, no closet for the small bedroom in sight.

"Sorry about the unmade bed, Billie told us you would be getting here later," Lauren explained falling across the bed sluggishly, using her right hand to prop up her head. "You can put your clothes and stuff in the dresser."

Nodding at her words, I followed her instruction placing the little amount of clothing I had in the dresser ― something which didn't take long. As I put the clothes away, Lauren had stood from the bed beginning to pull on what I noticed was ― alike to my own shoes ― an extremely beat up pair of sneakers.

"Come on, let's go for a walk," She suggested, myself nodding before cringing at the wet splashy feeling of my boots.

"Okay, but I need to change my shoes, they're all wet." My nose crinkled at the feeling, something that made Lauren giggle.

Quickly, I was able to change out of the wet boots and socks; Lauren allowing me to borrow a pair of her own socks before I changed into the only other shoes I had — the dry Converse. The Converse were two sizes too big, a feature which I was used to, but it still annoyed me.

"Put on a jacket too, it's cold outside," Lauren called as she trotted out the door, myself fumbling to pull on my old jacket.

This jacket was about the only thing that Randall Dean bought me while I was living with him in Chicago. Chicago was far too cold to be living in without a jacket, and so during my first few days of living with him he had taken me to the closest Goodwill to buy it. Sure, it wasn't the nicest jacket, but I did appreciate the gesture ― and; of course, the warmth it provided.

Chicago, Illinois was an invigorating city, but it was far too cold in the winter. I had a feeling that Astoria was going to be the same, unfortunately. Giving my new room one last glance, I left the bedroom following Lauren out to the living room.

Making it to the living room, I caught sight of Kora using a silver house phone ordering pizza and Lauren standing by the front door zipping up an orange coat that looked to be a bit too small. Shuffling next her silently, Lauren smiled at me before yelling to Kora.

"Kora, we're going on a walk. We'll be back later!"

"Whatever, the pizza place said it'll be here in like forty-five minutes." Kora hollered back at us, before using a normal tone to give the pizza place an address.

Lauren rolled her eyes at Kora's snarky tone, the both of us scurrying outside closing the door as we left. The temperature had to at least be five degrees colder than when I had gotten here fifteen minutes earlier, it was already twilight out, the stars beginning to shine. The only good thing about Astoria seemed to be its undeniable beauty. Despite the cold, the purple sky with stars slowly becoming more visible was something the bustling city of New Orleans didn't have.

"So, you're what, seven or eight?" I puckered my lips at the assumption, quickly correcting Lauren.

"Nine." I didn't blame her for thinking I was younger than I was. Years of being in the foster system had taken its toll, I was on the scrawny side for a nine-year-old girl. "But, I get eight a lot," I explained, so Lauren didn't feel bad.

I made a special treatment to avoid puddles, childishly jumping over them when we got close.

Lauren made a noise of recognition, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "Oh, I understand, the foster system does that. I'm thirteen." She confessed, with a slight blush as if she were embarrassed to be that age.

Curiosity had got the better of me, and before I could think over my words I was asking about Kora. "How old is Kora?"

"Sixteen," Lauren said the number with a shiver. "I know she seems like a real bitch, and don't get me wrong ― she is. But she can be nice when she wants." I nodded thinking over Lauren's words.

Studying Lauren closer, I was able to see that while her face was thin, it held patches of childish youth, a clear sign of being in the very last stages of adolescence. Her eyes, unlike Billie's cold blue ones, were a warm cocoa color.

"So what's your story?" She finally questioned after a moment of comfortable silence. "Where are you coming from?" I took a second to think about what to tell her.

Lauren was the first person that wasn't an adult who wasn't put off by me. I didn't want to blow it by mentioning some weird witchy powers.

"I've been all over the map. I was adopted a few times when I was younger before being put in foster care at seven, since then I haven't stayed in one home more than a year, so I've just been going around the country." I tried making it as informative as possible without giving too much away, and luckily, Lauren accepted it with a nod of her head.

"Rough," She commented, giving me a sincere look. "I've only been in the foster care system since I was eleven, my parents died in a car accident..." Her eyes were softer and glassier as she said this, myself waiting patiently for her to continue. "My auntie and uncle were supposed to take me, but they're really young ― twenty now, but eighteen at the time. The court decided they needed to mature a bit before taking me so they put in the foster system. Actually, since they're now twenty they're supposed to get custody of me in the next few weeks, so I'll be out of the system." Her voice ended with passionate hope, and I couldn't help but feel happy for her.

I really did, but then I realized that within the next few weeks my only semi-friend would be gone and I would be left alone once more. Maybe Kora would suddenly grow friendlier?

'I doubt it.' The voice of what I envisioned my mother's sounded like whispered from the recess of my head.

"That's good." I put on a smile, rubbing my arms to add some warmth. It was now completely dark out, and the house was nowhere to be seen, only the road and woods surrounding it, but Lauren seemed to know exactly where she was going. "I'm happy for you." She grinned at my words, looking off into the stars. I paused deciding I was curious enough about Kora to see if Lauren knew anything about her. "What about Kora and Billie, what are their stories?"

Lauren paused for a second before answering. "Well, Billie ― she's nice enough is all I'll say. The woman can't go an hour without smoking and she's heavily addicted to painkillers, even makes Kora and I steal them from the hospital for her sometimes. She works at the local gas station, but most of her income comes from what she gets paid by the state for fostering us." Lauren gave me a quick history on Billie making me nod my head, it sounded like she was fine as long as we stayed out of her way.

"Kora's a different story. From what I know, she's been in the system for a long time, she was here before I was, and I've been here since I was eleven. Kora's rough around the edges from her upbringing, but she's nice sometimes. Here's the thing with Kora, she doesn't rely on Billie for money and such, she has her own way of making money..." Lauren trailed off as if thinking of ways to explain the next part to me. "She has this thing that she does online, I hear her sometimes at night. It's basically a porn live feed, and the more views she gets, the more money she makes." Lauren admitted, my eyes widening when I heard that part.

"Is that even legal?"

"Probably not, but we can't tell anyone! It's one of the main things that brings in money around here." She warned, causing me to nod.

Wanting to change the subject from my apparent foster sister's nightly job, I decided to question about the school. I would be in the fourth grade, my second to last year of elementary school. Hopefully, Karen had sent the correct files over to the school so I would be put into the IEP program for extra help with my learning. At this rate without an IEP, I was destined to fail the rest of my academic career.

"What about the school?" I inquired, seeing what I assumed to be the house lights pop up from a distance.

"Well, it's weird here. Since it's such a small city, there are only three schools in total. And all of them are K-12, so elementary, middle, and high school is all put together. Albeit in different buildings, but it's still weird. Kora usually drives us to and from school." I hummed thinking over her answer. That was a new one, all the schools combined? "Oh yeah, and don't be put off if you're cold-shouldered by the other kids, we kind of have a harsh reputation. No one is very friendly to the foster children." Lauren seemed as if it didn't bother her that everyone was unfriendly, and to be honest it didn't bother me much either.

I wasn't expecting anything different, kids weren't open to me and other than Lauren, that wasn't changing anytime soon.

"Ha, what a surprise," I muttered causing Lauren to laugh, the lights of the house getting closer.

"Don't worry," Her voice was flamboyant. "It's not only us, the Cullen family is also outcasts. But they have each other, so it's little different." I rose a brow at her words wondering exactly who the 'Cullens' were.

"Who's that?" I inquired, Lauren shrugging.

"They're all fostered like us, except they're a lot older, in high school. You see, a year ago Dr. Cullen and his wife moved down here so he could help out at the hospital, he's like some amazing surgeon or something like that. He's super young, in his twenties or early thirties, pretty rich too. Anyway, there's seven of the kids, and they all sort of keep to themselves. Two of them are Mrs. Cullen's niece, three were fostered early on, and the last are twins who are Dr. Cullen's niece and nephew. But he adopted them all since Mrs. Cullen can't have kids. Kora's pretty jealous of how lucky they got to be adopted by people like that." Lauren informed me, myself taking in her words.

"I kind of am too," I sighed thinking of how lucky the Cullen children were to have the prosperity of being adopted by such a kind couple. "Some people just have all the luck, I guess."

Lauren nodded in understanding at my words, myself only thinking of how I wished someone like Dr. and Mrs. Cullen would adopt me. But then again, they would probably just return me after the blanket of bad luck that followed me acted up and caused for some sort of incident. Or worse, the poor family would end up just like Carson and Lori Shay.

Finally, we were entering the warm house, myself purring at the temperature change. Lauren quickly hung her jacket up on the coat rack by the door, myself deciding to just leave mine on. The smell of freshly made pizza wafted against my nose making my stomach grumble loudly. Following Lauren through the door, I was greeted by a medium-sized kitchen.

A small glass table sat in the middle of the kitchen with five chairs around it, a big box of pepperoni pizza laying open in the middle of the table. The cabinets were unmatched, painted a light blue, with a checkerboard tile floor.

Kora was already sitting eating her pizza when we sat at the table, Lauren helping me with my plate. I appreciated the help Lauren was giving me, and for a second I wondered if this was how having an older sibling felt.

Dinner was quiet, Kora simply watching me as she ate with an odd look. Lauren anxiously tapped her fingers against the table as we ate, the awkward silence concealing us in a dome. The quietness of the house was soon interrupted by a loud, bold roar which came from outside.

Unable to stop myself, I jumped with a small yelp at the loud cry of thunder. Lightning cut across the sky lighting the kitchen up, the sound of heavy rain pelting the ceiling sounding about. Immediately, the ceiling started leaking, but as if everyone had already been expecting it, buckets were already put in place of the water dripping through.

Kora laughed as she stood from the table, putting the remaining pizza in the refrigerator. "You better get used to the rain." Is all she said before leaving the kitchen and making her way to her bedroom.

With a smile, Lauren finished her pizza. "She likes you." I snapped my head in her direction, eyes comically wide.

"Really?"

"Mmhmm," I finished my pizza as well, Lauren and I slowly walking to our room. "If she didn't like you, we'd know." I sat on our bed, watching as she dug through the drawers of our dresser. "Aha, here it is. Some pajamas!" I was surprised when she handed me purple footsie pajamas that were obviously too small for her, but just the right size for me.

How weird, something that actually fit properly.

"Wow, thank you." I giggled at the dog prints over the onesie, excited to wear it.

Lauren laughed at my excited look, watching as I practically ripped off my clothes before throwing the footsie on in record time. Feeling the warmth of the pajamas engulf me, I smiled turning and picking up my clothes that I had just thrown across the floor. Rain still pelted down on the roof causing for it to echo around, the window creaking under the force of the water.

For a second, I wondered whether the window was about to shatter. Deciding that Lauren had been staying in this room for two years and was still safe was enough proof for me to forget the creaky window, placing the clothes in the dresser and crawling into bed. Lauren left soon after to take a shower and get in her nightwear.

My eyes were incredibly heavy, a small yawn leaving me as I lay there trying not to fall asleep. Tomorrow was the first day of school for me, and I wasn't looking forward to it. Would there be another Chucky Stewart waiting around the corner? Karen told me I had to at least be here for a year, I didn't want to face her anger if I accidentally slipped up again.

If?

It wasn't an 'if' question, I knew I would slip up. I've always slipped up in one way or another, the question was simply when. How long did I have before Astoria, Oregon became another victim of my peculiar abilities?

Who knew?

Again I felt envy for the adopted Cullen siblings Lauren had earlier told me about. To be so loved in a foster home that they decided to adopt you, how great did that sound. My eyes closed on their own accord to thoughts of a lovely family who cared for me as their own.

To a mother who read me a book as I fell asleep, or a father who comforted me when I had nightmares. Dreams of a world that would never be mine consumed me that night, the gentle patter of the rain acting as my lullaby. That night I dreamt of a mother with so much love it smothered me, and a father who was so compassionate it became me. Both my dream parents had swirling gold eyes with a family made of pale skin and exquisite beauty.

What a strange dream.