I grab my purse and exit the camper. I lock up and make my way down the street. It's a nice one, leafy and light with lots of beautiful little homes. This wasn't the grandest street, it wasn't like my mothers or even the Nomikos neighbourhood, but it was real working people making it by, and I liked real.

When I reach the home it is red brick built with two windows at the front, a single levelled home. You can see that once there were many flowers and plants adoring the side of the walkway. Someone had loved it at some point, but it was unkempt now and untidy. It didn't look like anyone had attempted cutting the grass this side of the new year. Ivy was growing up and over the porch, and trailing up and along the house, it wouldn't be long and it would be taking over the window to my left. I can see as I hesitantly step up the steps that there is some paper covering up the window to prevent anyone seeing in, or perhaps anyone seeing out.

My eyebrows meet with apprehension.

"Shit... walk away" I beg myself.

"Who is it" comes a voice from within. It's small, and yet fierce all at once. A defiance in the tone makes me curious, too curious to walk away. I could detect the tone of a young teenager a mile off. I had been around Olympia and Josephine long enough to learn a thing or two.

I lean forward to speak closer to the door "My name is Ms Dawson... I came to speak with your father" I say as confidently as possible.

I knew once a teen smelt blood they were frenzied in their attack of you. Teenage girls reminded me of great white sharks...

"Im not going with you... Im not going into the system to be chewed up and spit out at eighteen with creepy ass weirdos for foster parents... fuck right off"

I stepped back, my face awash with confusion.

WTF.

Social workers? The system?!

"I'm not a social worker" I call back.

The papers on the window move slightly, and a little face peeps out.

"Holy shit" she curses as she disappears.

The bolts are thrown open, and the chain is drawn across the back of the door to reveal as it opens with gusto, a teenage version of ... well... me!

Her finger is poised in the air as she looks me up and down like I'm a curious alien arrived upon her stoop.

I take her in with as much surprise and confusion. She is shorter than me, but not by much. We have the same light brown eyes of our mother, and she had my nose too but with a silver hoop pierced through her right nostril. She looked, a little, no alot, disheveled and in need of some TLC.

"What in the pod people's green earth are you... a shape shifter? No, a body snatcher? Wait... I got this" she said wide eyed and a little mad "you're the one aren't you... the perfect child my mother gave away... and yet couldn't ever get over or stop putting above us"

"What" I ask, starting to feel some of her anger.

"You're the fucking image of her" she says with a grimace.

"Watch your tone" I warn.

"Watch your face" she returned "it's eerie how much you look like her" she said trying to offend me.

"looked in the mirror lately squirt"I retort.

"The black version of my mother... not quite the same as you Snow White"

"Fuck off" I curse at her. "I didn't mean that" I say quickly in defence of myself.

"Watch your tone" she throws back, my words coming back to me with attitude.

"What's your name" I ask.

"What's yours ..." she asks sarcastically "Millie" she jokes.

I take a step back. I can feel myself fold over inside wanting to be smaller all of a sudden. What a joke this was, that yes I was, Millie Dawson... exactly who they wanted me to be... a carbon copy of them both. I felt embarrassed. Millie was this kids actual mother, and I turn up here looking like her, and carrying her full freakin' name.

The moment I had found out about my birth mother I had realised my mother had morphed me into her, like a replacement.

"It is isn't it" she called after me as I stepped away and took a moment on the front lawn. It's long grass ticking the back of my knees "Thats just messed up"

I sat down on the porch step and gathered myself a little as the teen stepped down beside me, her dirty sneakers nudging mine for room as she sat down.

"My name is Veda" she reveals. "And no I am not your father Luke. I choked out the last guy who thought that was funny. Got expelled"

"I wouldn't have thought that to be honest ... my mind went straight to My Girl, but then I'm ten years older than you. Can I ask, where is your father" I question.

She looks away from me and out to the road. It gives me a moment to study her side profile. She is adorable, if you forget she's half feral at this point. Her nose is freckled, and her lips are full and sit upturned, like she knows a secret nobody else does. Her hair is an untamed and wild Afro that I absolutely love... and yet she is so little still, and underneath the feral and fierce teens exterior is a little girl who appears to be scared and alone.

"He's in prison" she reveals, not looking back to me.

"So much for a deep dive Kate" I whisper to myself.

"Whose Kate" she asks, finally looking back to me.

"My best friend... and an absolute shit PI"

For the first time I see a flicker of a smile, before it is replaced by the teen scowl.

I turn myself so that I am facing her. This was a little more serious than I imagined "When did he go to prison"

She begins to play with her hands, locking her thumbs together and staring down at them uncomfortably "six months ago"

I look up to the tree above our heads, trying to focus on the dappled sunlight peeking through and not the way my stomach twisted in knots to think of what this meant for Veda... or who this man was that my birth mom married.

"Are you okay" was all I could muster as I looked back to her and searched her eyes.

She looks away from me again, not wanting to keep eye contact with the ghost of her mother that was currently sat on the stoop beside her.

I understood that.

"Would you care if I told you no" she says honestly.

I was impressed with her honesty, and a little scared at how I should react to this. I wasn't sure what I could do, but I did care, and I wanted to help.

"Of course. Veda, who is looking after you if your dad is in prison"

She stands up and dusts down her cut off denim shorts, brushing dust from the pathway down her tanned thighs to her knees. It was a bit like she was brushing off my question.

"Veda" I ask again "who is looking after you" I say more sternly than I wanted to.

"Oh fuck off Millie... I don't need a big sister coming around here and making me her business... just turn around and pretend you never met me... this family is garbage... get out of here and back to your pretty little life"

She stormed off into the house and threw the door to close it, but found my foot in the way. "Get lost" she shouted at me angrily.

Hearing those words sent my mind to Wren and the last she physically said to me in person.

Ouch.

"Not until I know someone's looking after you... where are your brothers" I asked.

"My oldest brother is serving in the Army. Europe somewhere last I heard"

I push myself into the house and she steps back, almost falling over garbage bags full to the brim with clothing, and her personal effects by the looks of it.

"And the other one... is he here" I ask, scouting out the rooms that fed off of the entryway.

She places her arm up across the doorway into the living area to block my view and forces me to look back at her "Daniel... he bounced months ago. He didn't want to end up in the system either. He's seventeen... he didn't have long to wait it out"

I widen my eyes "he left you here... to fend for yourself..."

"He thinks I'm in the system already. I promised I would go"

"Hang on... why didn't they call Moira... she would have taken you. She's your aunt by blood. She had the right to know her niece and nephew were on their own. She wouldn't have let this happen to her sisters kids"

"Who the hell is Moira" she asked with a frown.

I rubbed at my temple intensely "this is...what am I meant to do with you" I ask out loud.

"Nothing. I'm not your problem sis" she said sarcastically, grabbing the black garbage bags and hiking them onto her shoulder.

"Yes you bloody well are" I state firmly.

"No I bloody well ain't" she countered as she pushed past me.

I followed after her "where do you think you are going"

She looked back over her shoulder "Im outta here before the social realise they overlooked me"

"You're coming with me" I say firmly as I push past her grabbing a black garbage bag and taking off up the street.

"Hey" she called after me "that ones got my tent in... give it back"

"No" I called back as I heard her running up behind me. "I came here for answers... and I'm leaving with one"

"And what the hell will you do with me" she asked.

"Well little sister" I said in the same sarcastic manner she had done. We stopped beside the camper "I think we will figure it out one day at a time. For now, I need you to get in my vehicle and trust me"

"That's a huge red flag Millie... huge. It's giving, won't make it to your second location vibes"

"Shut up and get in the van"

"Getting redder by the second" she said with a smirk "and this looks like a silver vibrator" she said judgementally as she gave the camper a once over.

"Get in... we can get you lunch and anything else you need before we set off" I say opening the door and throwing in the garbage bag.

"If you take me to a salon so I can fix my hair... i'll let you kidnap me"

"I'm not kidnapping you... trust me... I wasn't expecting to spend my summer with a teenager... let alone one who speaks back this much"

She peeked into the van "I don't want to freak you out Snow White... but there's a raccoon with its head stuck in a kibble bag in here"

"That's Norman. Half raccoon half feral cat" I said pushing her all the way in.

"Stop forcing a teen girl into your van... it's creepy"

"Fuck off and get in" I said slamming the door behind us.

She took the passenger seat beside me, and I started the van just as Norman appeared, wide eyed, he took Veda in, in his seat of all places. He looked extremely put out.

"It looks rabid" she mused as they had a stare off.

"You're in his seat" I tell her as I move off up the street, pushing my sunglasses back up the bridge of my nose.

Norman pushed on through and walked straight over Vedas bare legs. I hoped he wouldn't bite her out of displeasure, he didn't. He turned around a thousand times in a circle and curled up on her lap.

Veda didn't seem to mind.

"So, tell me, whose Moira... and where are you taking me"

***

Suddenly my van was full, and my one travel companion had doubled to two. I hadn't expected to take home a teenager, but I couldn't leave her there alone. I would take her to my mother and she would have her. She always knew what to do and I knew she wouldn't have Millie's children lost in the system.

I guess I should have rung ahead on that one, because my mother wouldn't be home when we finally made it back to town a month later.

Damn it.