
Carolyn
"Welcome home, my baby." Natasha's parents folded her into an embrace and welcomed her with a smile as we walked into the two-storey building they lived in.
"I see you brought a friend." Her mother smiled at me as she saw me. "Come here, my dear." She opened her arms for an embrace.
I warmed up to her parents immediately. They were as kind as their daughter. They hadn't even batted an eyelash at my presence.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Barlow." I greeted as I stepped into her embrace, fighting off the tears in my eyes. 
I wished it was my mother hugging me at the moment and couldn't help wondering where she was and why she didn't bother to look for me. Not even once.
"She is too young to be Natasha's friend." Mr. Barlow chuckled. "You are welcome to our home anyways. I hope you are more fun than Natasha."
I smiled.
"Dad!" Natasha protested.
"Did he lie?" Mrs. Barlow chuckled. "You are


Carolyn
"Now, don't act cheap." Natasha said as we walked into the boutique.
"Cheap?" I breathed, looking around the boutique with amazement. "Everything here will be there expensive. I thought we were going to the market to pick some clothes."
She looked confused. "The market? Why would we go there? I told you I wanted to buy you some nice clothes, shoes and a phone. We can only get that at the boutique and a phone store."
"We can also get some nice clothes at the market. There are some women who sell clothes in the market stalls."
She ruffled her nose with distaste. "Market stalls? Aren't those where they sell secondhand clothes?"
I chuckled. "I thought you didn't know about them. Let's go there. The clothes there are also nice."
"And cheap." She scoffed. "I thought I just told you not to act cheap. Why would I take you to the market stalls to buy secondhand clothes when I told you th


Carolyn
Few days later
I had completely gotten healed and didn't need to be placed on bed rest anymore. Even the bandages and drugs were all gone. 
"Thank goodness you are fine now." Liam said.
"Thank you, doctor." I said, grateful for his care.
He hadn't missed a day of checking up on me in the past few days.
"It's not my place to ask you how you got that wound but you should be careful." He said.
I nodded. "I plan to be."
Natasha walked in with a glass of cold orange juice. "This is for the doctor." She said as she handed the glass to him.
"Thank you for being a good host." He smiled warmly at her as he raised the glass to his lips.
I paid no attention to them. I had already suspected that the two of them were dating the second day I was here.
"You are free to go home, Amelia." Liam said, looking at me.
"Oh, she can stay here for a while." Natasha butted in.
"Why?" Liam asked, confused. "I'm sure her parents would be worried by now."
"She is an orphan." Natasha said. "I told you that already, Liam."
"Yes, but I'm sure she has relatives who can take care of her. They might be looking for her at the moment."
"I don't have anyone who would notice my absence." I said, tired of the two of them talking about him like I wasn't in the room.
"See?" Natasha smiled at Liam.
Liam frowned. "What are you doing?"
"I decided to adopt her when I heard that she has no one."
Liam gasped. "Adopt? Don't you think a sixteen-year-old teenager is too old for you to adopt, babe?"
"Okay, maybe not adopt but I'm not sending her away when she has nowhere to go." Natasha said.
"Is there something I need to know?" Liam asked.
"No." Natasha and I said at the same time and smiled as we looked at each other.
Liam shook his head. "The two of you are suspicious." He smiled. "Who am I though to get in between two females when they have bonded?"
I smiled, grateful that he let it at that.
"Aren't you forgetting something though, babe?" Liam turned to Natasha. "You are going home soon to spend your two-week leave with your parents. What do you plan to do with Amelia?"
Natasha bit down on her lower lip. "She can stay here alone." She turned to me. "Can you?"
"Are you kidding? You want someone who is just recuperating from a gunshot wound to stay alone without anyone around her?" He sighed. "This was why I said we should send her home to my family. We can find them for her. Don't you think it's a good idea?"
That would be a disaster. I didn't know all of my relatives and it would be awkward to live with strangers who would think of me as an unexpected burden placed at their doorstep. The few relatives who lived close to us had made it clear what they thought of me and my dad. They didn't want anything to do with us.
Moreover, I was sure Gary's men would be on the lookout around their houses. I would be grabbed and bundled off to him if I showed up near them before I could even see anyone.
"Um, that might be a good idea." She nodded, stroking her chin in contemplation.
I sensed a calamity and quickly acted. Natasha was already getting swayed and I would be closer to my doom than I could blink if that happened. 
"Why don't I go with you?" I blurted out.
Natasha's eyes widened in shock. "To visit my parents?"
"Yes. Would that be a problem?" I asked. "Would they mind if I tag along with you?"
"No, of course not." She chuckled. "They would be happy to have another child in the house asides me to take care of. I'm sure they would love to have you around. You see, I'm an only child and they always complain of getting bored anytime I call them since I moved out of the house."
I grinned. "Then going with you shouldn't be a problem. You wouldn't have to postpone your plans with your parents because of me."
She frowned. "I still don't think it's a good idea."
"Why?" I wanted to cry out in pain and exasperation.
"It's a small town. My parents live in a small town."
I struggled to keep the smile off my face. A small town was just what I needed. "That is perfect."
She arched her eyebrows at me. "Are you sure? Most teenagers from here don't like small towns."
I smiled at her. "I'm not most teenagers, Natasha."
She nodded. "Right! I forget you are not."
"I guess it's all settled then." Liam breathed.
"Yes." I smiled at the two of them, already hatching a new plan in my head.
"Let's leave Amelia alone, babe." Liam said, holding Natasha by the hand and walking her out of my room.
She laughed. "Are you missing me already?" She teased but she followed him.
"Am I not allowed to be?" He sulked. "You will be gone soon. I need to spend all the time we've got left before that."
She chuckled. "Oh my! Don't be ridiculous, Liam. You make it sound like I would be gone for two centuries."
"It feels like that already." He chuckled.
"You are a doctor. I doubt you would have much time to miss me with how busy you would be."
"I would miss you. Don't be surprised if you see me in your parents' house."
She chuckled as they went out of the room, closing the door gently behind them. "That would be a delight though I wonder how you would get that done."
"Don't insult my love."
"I would never undermine your love for me but I heard from the chief of your department how tight your schedule is for the month. With the many surgeries you have lined up, I doubt you can make the time to come to my parents' house. I know how much of a responsible doctor you are, you wouldn't leave your patients to go after a girlfriend because you miss her."
"Oh!" He groaned. "Since you know, you should spend all your free time with me before leaving."
"I plan to do that." 
I smiled as I listened to every word they said till I could hear them no more. I felt a longing in my heart for what they had and shared with each other and quickly squashed it down. This wasn't the time to think of love.
I thought of Aaron and wondered if we would have become lovers if I hadn't had to run from Gary's gang. He had told me he had a confession to make after we win the Mathematics competition.
I sighed, pushing the thought away and moved to my wardrobe and began packing my clothes — the ones I had gotten from Natasha.
I packed everything I owned here into a small bag as I didn't plan to come back.

Carolyn
"Welcome home, my baby." Natasha's parents folded her into an embrace and welcomed her with a smile as we walked into the two-storey building they lived in.
"I see you brought a friend." Her mother smiled at me as she saw me. "Come here, my dear." She opened her arms for an embrace.
I warmed up to her parents immediately. They were as kind as their daughter. They hadn't even batted an eyelash at my presence.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Barlow." I greeted as I stepped into her embrace, fighting off the tears in my eyes. 
I wished it was my mother hugging me at the moment and couldn't help wondering where she was and why she didn't bother to look for me. Not even once.
"She is too young to be Natasha's friend." Mr. Barlow chuckled. "You are welcome to our home anyways. I hope you are more fun than Natasha."
I smiled.
"Dad!" Natasha protested.
"Did he lie?" Mrs. Barlow chuckled. "You are either messaging your clients or chatting with your boyfriend even when you are at home on 

Chapter 7 A New Life