The Good Life.

"I need the next flight to Ohio, please."

The lady in front of me typed away at the computer and I started to get impatient. I really just want this to get over with.

She gave me a weird look, "What Airport in Ohio are you looking to go to?"

Shit.

Zack never told us where in Ohio she lives. I bit my lip as I shrugged my shoulders, "Umm.. What's the most common airport people go to?"

She started to list some airports as I got lost in my thoughts. This was pretty much useless. Brian didn't sign the paper and I have no idea where to even look for Allison.

"Ma'am?" The lady asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I frowned, "Sorry. The first one you said will be fine."

She nodded and continued to type, "Will this be a one-way or a round trip?"

"Whichever is cheaper."

"Okay, it looks like the next flight I have is scheduled for take off in an hour and it's one way. The total expenses will be $605.95."

My eyes bugged out of my head, "That's the cheapest you have?"

She chuckled lightly, "I take it, you've never bought a plane ticket before. Well, if you buy a ticket in advance it's way cheaper. I could book a flight for you next week and it would be $412.35."

I sighed, while reaching in my backpack for my wallet, "It's fine. I really need to get to Ohio now." I counted out all the money I had and gave her the amount for the plane ticket.

She gave me change and handed me the ticket, "Have a good flight Ma'am."

I mumbled a 'thank you' while shoving my money and wallet back in my bag. A gasp fell from my lips when I saw the pre-paid cell phone in my bag. With all the chaos that happened in the past 24 hours, I completely forgot about Becca. I took the phone into my hand, while remembering what I promised her.

"Eddie, you can't just leave me! We're best friends!"

A sigh fell from my lips as I shoved the little clothes I had into my backpack, "Bex, you heard Adam, those fuckers want to adopt me. I went through enough with them when they were my foster parents. What do you think will happen now that no social worker will be watching them, huh?"

Becca put her hand on my shoulder, "If you tell Adam what they did to you, maybe he won't let them adopt you."

I gave her a look, "Adam doesn't care about me! I'm a trouble maker, he's glad to get rid of me," I took a breath to calm myself, "Look, Bex, I talked to Mr. Jay. He gave me paper work on emancipation. He said all I have to do is get my birth parents to sign it."

She got confused, "How are you going to find them? You don't even know who they are!"

"Mr. Jay said they will be listed on my birth certificate which they don't seem to have. He gave me a place to get it, but I have to do this fast." I tossed my back pack on my back.

Becca was still looking more confused than ever, "Wait. How could those fuckers adopt you if they don't have your birth certificate? I thought I heard Adam say that, the only way a kid can get adopted is if the biological parents sign their rights over.."

I placed my hands on her shoulders, "Exactly! Mr. Jay said that Adam is in the process of getting my birth certificate so once his finds my birth parents, you know they will sign the rights over in a heartbeat, so I need to get to them before he does!"

Becca sighed, "Eddie, I don't want to lose my best friend!"

"You won't! I'll come back for you, okay?"

"Okay, but what happens when people notice that you're not here? What am I suppose to say?"

My mouth formed into a tight line, "Just tell them that you haven't seen me."

She yanked herself away from me to rush over to the desk that we shared. I watched as she rummaged through the drawers and ran back to me, "Here, it's a pre-paid phone. There's unlimited texting and calling for a whole month. I have one too."

"Bex, when did you get these?" I asked, a smile threatening to show.

She shrugged, "Last night, right after Adam said you were getting adopted. I didn't want to lose contact with my best friend."

I took the phone from her and pulled her into a hug, "Bex, we're best friends till the end, no matter what. You're the only one who has been there for me since day one. I will be back for you!"

She broke the hug, "Just promise me you will call or text me with updates, okay? The number is already programmed in there."

"Okay, I promise." I raised my pinky finger, "Best friends till the end?"

Becca gave me a sad smile and shook her pinky with mine, "Best friends till the end."

I glanced at the time and saw that I had a good 30 more minutes before my flight started to board, so I took the opportunity to get in touch with Becca. I turned the pre-paid phone on and waited for the screen to load. A screen saver of a sunset came to view and the phone started to vibrate. Text messages kept following in. I knew they were all from Becca, so I waited until it stopped. When it did, I found 13 new text messages waiting to be read. I clicked on the most recent one that was sent 45 minutes ago.

Bad news Eddie. Adam knows. Please tell me you have the paper signed! Call me when you see this!

My heart started to pound as I hit the call button. Each ring caused my nerves to get worse.

"Eddie?!"

"Bex, what's going on?"

"Adam knows you're trying to get emancipated! He threatened Mr. Jay! Eddie, please tell me you got the paper signed!" She was scared.

I wasn't sure how to feel about this, "Not exactly. I met my Dad, he wouldn't sign the paper, so I'm about to fly to Ohio as we speak to get my Mother to sign it."

She groaned, "You're running out of time, Eddie! I heard Adam talking to the fuck faces and he said that he's contacted your Mom and she's going to sign her rights over to them. You need to get to her before he does!"

"I know! It's fine, I got this, Bex. Don't worry, I'll call you once I get my Mom to sign the paper."

"Okay, be careful."

"Always am."



I felt like I was dead by the time the plane landed in Ohio. I haven't slept in the past 72 hours and I was starting to feel it now. I winced at the bright sun that was shining through the windows, blinding me as I walked through the airport. I had no clue where to even look for my Mother. I felt a vibration in my back pack, so I decided to see what Becca wanted. I stopped to sit on a bench as I opened the text message.

I'm sorry, Eddie!

Confusion fell upon me, so I decided to call her. I started to bite my finger nail, wondering what possibly she could be sorry for.

After a few rings, she picked up, "Eddie, I'm so sorry." She whispered.

I shook my head, "Bex, what's going on and why are you whispering?"

"I'm in the bathroom. Adam found my phone last night-"

My blood drained out of my body, "Becca, you didn't tell him, did you?"

I heard sniffles on the line, "He said that if I told him where you were then he would take me to see my sister! Eden, I'm sorry!" Bribery. What Adam does best.

"You're the one who said you can't lose your best friend! Well, sorry. You lost her now and it's all on you." I said, feeling like it was time to give up.

She sniffled again, "Eddie, there's still a chance! Adam just left for the airport! All you have to do is get your Mom to sign the paper before he gets there!"

"I don't even know where she lives! I might as well just sit here till Adam shows up and drags me back."

"Look, I screwed up, Eddie. I'm sorry."

That made me roll my eyes, "Just forget it." I hung up the phone and leaned back in the seat. I was screwed.

I felt the phone vibrate and I sighed. I didn't want to hear anymore apologies from Becca. I laid there for a little longer. I was using every ounce of my will strength not to look at the text message. Fuck it.

The text message lit up the screen and I clicked open. A smile tugged at my mouth as I read the message.

27548 South BLVD. Cleveland, Ohio. Best friends?

I got to my feet as I replied 'Till the end'. A sudden burst of energy ran through my veins as I raced out of the airport. I didn't even know where the hell the was, so how was I suppose to get to her house?

I noticed a cab parked by the drop off section and I knew this was my only chance. I ran over to the car and the man driving stuck his head out the window, "Need a lift?"

"Yes, please. Do you know where 27548 South BLVD is?" I asked, while getting in the backseat of the cab.

He nodded his head at me through the rear view mirror, "Yes, I do, Miss. It's right down the road."

I smiled, "Great! Can you kind of hurry a bit? I'm sort of meeting my mom for the first time." With that, he sped down the road.

I'm actually meeting my mom. I feel like I should be nervous or excited, but I'm not. She agreed to sign her parental rights over, so that means she really didn't want me. My life is so screwed up right now and it's really all because of her.

"We are here, Miss." The cab driver stopped in front of a little brick ranch home. I gave him money for the ride and got out of the car.

I took in my surroundings and it looked like a really nice neighborhood. She had a mustang parked in the driveway, causing me to scoff. She's rich. Of fucking course. I rolled my eyes and decided to focus on the main thing here, before time ran out. I walked up the pathway that lead to the front door. I took a deep breath before knocking a couple times.

The door opened and there she was. She barely looked like the picture I saw of her, but I could tell it was her, by her face. She still had the same facial structure as she did in the picture.

She smiled, "Can I help you?"

"Are you Allison Williams?"

She continued to smile, "Yes, I am. What can I help you with?"

I decided to use the same approach I did with Brian, "I'm Eden Williams. I'm your daughter."

The smile disappeared off her face, "What are you doing here? Adam said that I didn't have to meet you. He said all I had to do was sign the paper and I did. Shouldn't you be with your new family?"

My knees were getting weak, "You signed the paper..?"

She nodded, "Yes, I did. Would you like me to call Adam or your family to let them know where you are? I'm sure they're worried sick about you."

My family?

I was starting to get dizzy, but I knew I needed to finish this, "I need you to sign my emancipation form."

"Emancipation? Adam didn't mention that. Why on earth would you want to be on your own at the age of fifteen, when you have a wonderful pair of people that want to adopt you." Her voice was like nails on a chalk board.

I could feel all the anger and resentment I had for her tearing at my skin. I tried to hold it in, but I couldn't. I snapped.

"Adam can go choke on his own dick," I watched Allison's eyes widen, as I continued on, "You gave me up when I was born and since then, no one adopted me. I had no one to raise me or take care of me, I was on my own. I'm fine on my own. It's the way it always is and it's the way it always will be. I don't need some fuck face people adopting me when I can do better on my own, so please just sign my paper. It's the only thing I will ever ask you to do. I'll never contact you again after this." I pleaded, starting to feel overwhelmed.

"Fine, give me the paper." She said in a stuck up tone.

I gave her the paper and a pen. I watched her sign the signature on the paper and she shoved it in my face, "You can leave now."

Since she was no longer my Mother, I decided it was time to tell her how I really feel. Just as I was about to open my mouth, a voice behind me spoke up, "We're not leaving until you give us an explanation." I wanted to smile, but my body was too weak.

Allison looked over my shoulder, "Brian? What are you doing here?"

I heard Brian's voice get closer, "I want to know why you didn't tell me that I had a kid!"

"Brian, I didn't want her, but my family is against abortion-"

Brian was now standing next to me with tense shoulders, "Oh, but you didn't think to ask if I wanted her? I'm her father!"

Their arguing was making my head spin. The dizziness I felt before was suddenly more intense. I was seeing double vision and my knees were shaking uncontrollably.

"There you are, Eden." I thought I was hearing things, because that sounded like Adam's voice.

Allison sighed in relief, "Thank god you're here! You need to take her off my property, Adam, before I call the cops. Same goes for you, Brian. I signed my rights over, I'm not her Mother, so I don't have to explain myself to you."

He really is here.

Every muscle in my body went numb and I'm sure face went pale. I leaned up against the house to hold my body up. All of my energy was gone.

I heard Brian ask, "Who the fuck are you?"

Adam replied smoothly of course, "I'm the NCO Adviser at the foster care system that Eden attends. I'm here to take her back, she has a family waiting to adopt her. I take it you're Brian Haner Jr, I've been trying to reach you for a while now. I need you to sign a piece of paper so Eden can be with the family she's always wanted to be with."

Oh, no. Here it comes.

I concentrated my eyes on Brian to see that he was looking at with confusion, "Why didn't you tell me?" He sounded hurt.

This was the only thing to throw me over the deep end. I went to take a step forward, but stumbled. I waited for my intended fate, to hit the ground. It didn't happen, Brian caught me and wrapped his arms around me, "Eden?"

"Please don't let them take me!" I kept screaming, but they slowly became whispers. I was fading in and out of consciousness. I felt warm hands on my face and I heard sirens in the distance becoming louder as time went by.

"C'mon, Eden! Stay with me! I won't let anyone hurt you! Please, Eden! You gotta stay awake!" That was the last thing I heard before slipping into the darkness of unconsciousness.