18. Summertime

"You're 15. You shouldn't have connections," Amanda comments.

"I do have a boyfriend, however."

"Still."

"So you're welcome," I say.

"I know. Thanks."

Well, now that we got that out of the way, she can calm down a little.

I sit and watch her eat lots of weird food and help her fold baby clothes. They're so tiny, it's scary.

"Still scared?" I ask.

"Terrified," she replies with a smile.

I move a pile of onesies to the side to fold some more. "Still think it's two boys?"

"I have no idea, to be honest."

"I hope you have at least one girl."

"I've got you," she says. "That's more than enough."

"Mhm," I reply sarcastically.

"So how is therapy going...?" Amanda asks cautiously.

It takes me a little by surprise. Amanda hasn't asked me outright about that yet. Not that I never expected her to, but still.

"Fine, I guess," I say.

"You guess?"

"I dunno if I'm making progress or not and I'm assuming I'm not supposed to...so..." To avoid her gaze, I pick up another onesie.

"It's a process."

"I know. But I'm impatient."

"Well I'm definitely not in the liberty to say medically, but I would say you're doing better. You smile now, at least."

I roll my eyes. "Involuntary response."

"And that's good," Amanda says. "Babydoll, don't rush it. Or anything. You're definitely growing up too fast."

"It's not like I'm leaving for college," I say.

"Still. You're gonna be driving soon. And that's seriously freaking your mom out."

"Oh, she'll be fine," I say nonchalantly.

"How could you be so sure?"

"When the hell am I gonna need to drive anywhere? I can put off a license for a while."

"True..."

I smile and move another stack over. Then I decide to just pick up as much baby laundry I can and carry it to the dresser in the nursery.

When I walk back out, I plop down on the floor and say, "So when I'm escaping my house, do I have to sleep on the couch now?"

"Unless you wanna sleep in the crib, yeah."

Damn. "That bed was so comfortable, though. Am I losing my nicknames too?!"

"You are and always will be my Babydoll. Don't get upset about that."

I smirk. "What are your kids gonna be called, then?"

"I'll decide that when I get to it. But no son of mine will be called Babydoll. Or Babygirl for that matter."

I laugh this time.

That's how my nights go for awhile. Staying with Amanda until Mom comes to get me. It's fun. And I get to stay at my two favorite places. The summer warms up Manhattan fast, and it lightens my mood even more.

I can definitely tell Mom is happier too. I don't know what drugs Elliot put her on but it's working.

I reconnect with Jordyn again, forgetting her through all of this. She knows what happened; she was at the trial. But I kind of cut off from her in the weeks following. Anytime I walk anywhere she is with me.

As school comes closer, I start to grow nervous. A lot happened to me this summer. Half of my...I guess 'clique' isn't returning. The threats of Claire and Karen coming back, even though they never bothered me, really. I just don't feel like dealing with it.

It's the Sunday before school starts for the week. 7:45PM. I'm home alone, lying on my couch, when I hear loud noises in the floor above me. There has been noises all day, since a family is moving in - well, I'm assuming. The past family moved out a while ago - but it's getting annoying.

Deciding to leave my apartment, I slide on the nearest pair of flip flops. My hands grab my key just before slipping out of my home. The stairs are closest, so I take those and follow the noise.

Luckily, the door is propped open and people continuously move in and out, getting boxes. Slowly, my feet carry me over to the biggest box. It says, "Ashley's Room".

Ashley.

I keep staring at the box, jumping when I hear my name.

I look up and see a man I've known for nearly a decade: Ashley's father.

"Trent?" I ask, even though I know it's him.

"Hey, kid. Surprised?"

"You can't be serious about this. You guys are moving in to this place?"

"Where the hell is my daughter?" he asks, looking back. "Ash!"

All of a sudden, I see a flash of the same black hair Trent has, but his is obviously much shorter. Then, I'm trapped in a hug that I'm familiar with all too well.

"I never got you a birthday present," Ashley says. "I didn't wanna wait for your sweet 16."

I smile into the hair that flew into my face. "You'll have to go above and beyond for that, then."

We draw back from each other. "So you go from a really nice house to a two bedroom apartment?"

"I wanted to. And it was way easier to get."

I nod and start helping her push the big box into her new room. All the apartments are the same, so her room is practically my room. It seems like she's already pretty comfortable where she is.

I remember that I'm supposed to be home. "Hey, Ash, I'll be right back."

"Kay."

I rush down to my apartment and find the nearest marker and paper I can. I write "at apartment 4C". With a piece of tape, I stick it to the outside of our apartment door. With that, I go back to my best friend.

Maybe school won't suck too bad after all.

*Olivia's POV*

"Wanna go out for drinks or something?" Nick asks

"I should go home to Ellie. She's been alone half the night. You guys could come over to our place, though. She'd appreciate the fun before school tomorrow."

They all agree and we head to my apartment. When I get up there, I see a note on the door that says "at apartment 4C".

Suddenly, I feel that feeling I felt when Cragen told me Ellie was abducted. I turn to Amanda, who doesn't seem nearly as worried as I am.

"Liv," she says gently. "It's written in her handwriting..."

She takes my key and unlocks the door."

"...look inside. It doesn't look like anything bad happened. She's fine. Let's just go get her."

"Amanda, for one, you need to sit down."

"I'm fine. Just-"

"And for two," I interrupt. "That apartment has been empty for over two months!"

I feel hands on my shoulders - Elliot. "People moved in there today. It's okay."

"Well, who moved in there?!" I ask. Instead of waiting for an answer, I make a break for the stairs, pushing past everyone.

"Liv!" I hear from both Nick and Elliot. I don't listen to them.

Up the stairs and to the apartment above mine. I can hear people inside, but not anything specific. I knock on the door quickly and continuously until someone opens the door.

Who is standing in front of me is not who I expect, even though I didn't expect anyone. Paige Larsson.

"Paige?"

"Looking for your daughter?" she asks casually, with a laugh.

"You guys moved to-"

"And those bastards are in jail and my daughter would not stand Burr Bank High School any longer. We did this for her."

She looks behind her, into the apartment. I look too, seeing what is Ashley's bedroom's door half open. Two teenage girls are inside, laughing and talking.

"And," Paige continues, "I'm actually really glad we did."

"I can tell Ellie is too."

"How's she doing?" Paige asks. "Is she...adjusting?"

"She's gonna adjust a hell of a lot better now. I think she's been doing alright. What about Ash?"

"Our daughters are pretty much the same person." She laughs a little. "I'm sure she's doing just the same."

It's true. Ashley and Ellie have known each other since the first day of first grade. I remember it perfectly. Paige and I had been talking, waiting for our daughters to come out. They came running out together to me and Paige, not even really wanting hugs from their mothers. As soon as a quick hug was over, they kept talking excitedly to each other about who knows what.

And from that point on, they were best friends.

And I had gained a second daughter.