"I never liked flying and I never will," Lisa said when we got off the plane.

I laughed,"Scared of heights?"

She nodded,"Scared more like terrified of heights."

"I didn't know that about you," I said as we waited for our bags.

"Well, the only person besides you that know is Ross and that's because he surprised me with skydiving for our one year anniversary," Lisa said before grabbing her bag.

I grabbed mine before saying,"What did you do?"

"Well, I did it, but let's just say Ross never took me anywhere high again after that," Lisa said, shaking her head.

We walked to the escalator which takes us down to the main floor. People were scattered everywhere in big crowds. Lisa and I walked through the crowd, slowly.

When we walked outside, the sun was beating down us, but it wasn't hot outside. More like a cool breeze.

I missed this. The beautiful sunshine, the calm and peaceful atmosphere.

"This is very different from West Virginia," Lisa commented, looking around.

"Welcome to Florida," I said with a smile.

"Come on, there's our Uber," Lisa said, pointing to a dark blue car waiting for us.

We walked over to the car, and Lisa opened the door. We stuff our suitcases in the backseat before we got into the car with Lisa sitting up front and me in the back.

Our driver was a young girl, maybe in her twenties, and she smiled when we got in.

"I'm Delilah, your driver today," she introduced herself.

"I'm Lisa, and that's Campbell," Lisa replied, kindly.

The two started a conversation while I looked out the window. People were walking in the sidewalks, talking and laughing with their friends.

When I lived in Florida, my father and I lived right outside of Orlando which is where we are right now.

Just knowing that I'm in the same city as my father sent a shiver down my spine.

I was so deep into thought that I didn't realize that we were parked outside of our hotel. Lisa was thanking Delilah as she was paying her.

I opened my door, stepping out on the concrete sidewalk. The hotel was tall with a lot of windows. There has to be at least thirty floors. I grabbed my suitcase while Lisa stepped out of the car.

I waited for her to get her suitcase before shutting my door. The car drove off, leaving us.

"Wow, much taller in person than online," Lisa said before walking to the glass doors.

I walked behind her, and she opened the door for me. I thanked her before walking inside.

The main floor was huge. There was a waiting room, and in the middle of the floor is a huge desk with a couple of people behind it. I saw two vending machines by the door, and there was a lot of tree plants.

Lisa walked up the a woman, and she told them her name. The woman handed her a piece of paper.

"Yes we have you down for one room and two queen sized beds. Is that right?" The woman asked Lisa.

Lisa nodded, and the woman gave her the key card to get into the room. Lisa turned back to me.

"Room 223, fourth floor," Lisa told me, looking at a piece of paper the woman gave her.

We walked to the elevator, and Lisa pushed the up button. We waited for a minute before the doors open, and people walked out of it. When no more people walked out, Lisa and I walked in and she pressed the fourth floor button.

There was a soft music playing quietly, and I paid attention the ground. I didn't really like elevators, but I'm not terrified of them.

When the doors opened on our floor, Lisa and I walked out of the elevator (making me extremely happy).

We looked at the golden number next to each door we passed, looking for our room. After a couple of minutes of walking, we found our room. Lisa swiped the key card against the little black thing.

The door unlocked, and Lisa pushed the door open revealing a enormous room. There was two queen sized beds next to each other separated by a black night table with a lamp on it.

There was a tv hanging on the wall, and there was a fridge. At the end of the room was a door leading to a bathroom. The walls were a light gray, and there was a huge window by the door.

Lisa put her suitcase on the bed by the door, so the other bed is mine for the next two nights. I put my suitcase on my bed, like Lisa did, and I found one of Brent's hoodies that I packed.

He let me have two of them so I would still have him with me even though he was physical here.

I threw the dark maroon hoodie over my head, and I put it on. It was oversized on me, but I didn't care. It was comfortable, and it reminded me of him.

Which reminds me.

I grabbed my MacBook out of my suitcase, and I opened it up. I FaceTime Brent since he was probably with everybody at school.

They would be at lunch right now, so it was perfect.

Brent picked up on the first ring. It took a second for the camera to focus, but when it did, I smiled at my handsome boyfriend.

"Guys, it's Campbell," Brent said, showing the phone to the rest of the table.

"Hey, guys," I said as they waved.

"How was your flight?" Anna asked.

"Good. We just got to the hotel," I replied, putting my MacBook on my lap.

"Well, we miss you. It's horrible without you," Nichole said, making everybody laugh.

"I miss you guys too. Florida is not where I want to be right now," I said, biting my lip.

Elliot changed the subject,"How is the weather there?"

"Pretty warm. Warmer than West Virginia for sure."

"Man, I see myself on the beach laying out on the sun. I can't wait for this summer," Hailey said, closing her eyes.

"Agreed. I can't wait to work on these abs," Gaberial agreed, slapping his stomach.

"What abs?" Gavin asked him.

"Just wait. At the end of summer, I shall have an eight pack," Gaberial said.

Gavin rolled his eyes before saying,"Keep dreaming pretty boy."

"Oh, you called me pretty," Gaberial replied, making me giggle.

"Y'all ready for the game tonight?" I asked the boys.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Brent answered.

"Well, good luck," I told the boys.

"Thanks, sis," Nick said.

I heard a bell ring in the background meaning that lunch was over.

"Already?!" Madison complained.

"I love you guys. Have fun in class," I said.

"Love you, Cam," they all said.

Brent turned the phone around to him, and he gave me a playful smile.

"I love you, princess," Brent said, making my heart flutter.

"I love you, too, Mason," I replied before blowing him a kiss.

"Bye, Campbell."

"Bye, Brent."

Then he hang up. I closed my MacBook before grabbing the adoption papers form my suitcase.

I'm doing this for Brent. For the girls. For the boys. For my family.

And not even my father is going to stop me from having a family.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It was the next day, meaning it was the day I see my father in five years.

The drive to the prison was uncomfortable as I looked out the window, anxious about what's about to happen.

Lisa was mumbling to herself as she was making sure she had everything.

My heart was beating extremely loud that I bet China could hear it right now. I bit my lip, giving me something to focus on other than my father.

The Uber stopped, and Lisa and I got out of the car. I looked in front of me to see a huge barbed fence with guards everywhere. It was a big prison with bars instead of glass for the windows.

Lisa and I walked inside after we got through security which took us at least thirty minutes. Then a cop led us the way to a small room with a metal table with three metal chairs.

Lisa and I sat down, and on the other side of me was a hook to hold a person with hand cuffs.

"You ready, Campbell?" Lisa asked me.

I shrugged,"Am I ever going to be?"

"Everything is going to be okay. And if you need to walk out of this room later, you are more than welcome to," Lisa said, rubbing my back.

I nodded,"Let's just get this over with."

Lisa nodded, and a few minutes later the metal door opened. Four cops walked into the room, and behind them was my father.

He was in an orange jumpsuit with a number on his chest. His dark brown hair was combed neatly, and there was some gray streaks through it. His blue eyes were identical to mine.

He looked more bulky then the last time I saw him, and he had a beard too. His eyes didn't leave mine when he sat down or when the cops cuffed him to the table.

The left except two cops who stood on either side of the door.

"Sunshine, it's so good to see you after all these years," My father said with a huge grin.

I didn't say anything as Lisa said,"Mr. West, do you know why you are in this room?"

My father shook his head,"I thought I was getting a visit from my daughter. Who are you?"

"I'm Lisa Cade. I'm Campbell's lawyer, and her foster mother," Lisa replied, opening her briefcase on the table.

My father looked confused at what she was doing. "What is this about?"

"The Cades want to adopt me, Dad," I said, making his eyes look at me.

"What?" Dad asked, confused.

"All we need from you is your signature," Lisa said, showing him the papers.

Dad looked at the papers before looking at me,"Sunshine, you can't be serious."

"I am, Dad. The Cade family takes care of me, loves me, and always make sure I always have what I need," I replied not giving him a reaction.

"But what about me? I'm your father. I can do all of those things," Dad said and his voice laced in hurt.

"Please just sign the papers. It's what I want," I pleaded.

"But just think about it. When I get out of here, we can go back to our life we had before I got in here. Don't you want that?" Dad asked me.

Tears built up in my eyes, and I pursued my lips. "And when will that be?"

My father looked taken back from this question, and I nodded.

"Right, you don't know," I said, wiping a few tears away before crossing my arms across my chest.

"My lawyer said that my sentence can be cut short if I'm behave well. I can be out of here in a year," Dad said, making me shake my head.

"And by then, I'll be eighteen. A legal adult."

"Mr. West, my family and I want what's best for Campbell and we know that with us. This way she can graduate highschool instead of moving schools again, and have a normal teenage life. All we want is Campbell to be happy," Lisa said.

"She's happy with me," Dad told Lisa, coldly.

"Mr. West-..." Lisa started, but my father cut her off.

"She is my child, not yours. She belongs with me, her father. I have taken care of her longer than you have," Dad said, angrily.

I laughed, humorlessly,"Taken care of me? Because of your addiction I was placed in foster care. Do you even know what that's like on a twelve year old? I was placed in an abuse home because of you. I got beaten every freaking day for two flipping years because of your addiction.

I have taken care of myself. I had to work my butt off to make sure I had clothes on my back for years. I almost died twice because you went off the deep end. If it wasn't for the Cades, I don't know what my life would be like right now.

They treat me like I'm their own daughter. They make sure I have everything I need, and they don't leave me when it's gets hard like you. They stick by my side the whole way. They love me, and I love them. They are my family.

So sign these damn papers please," I finished, standing up from my chair.

My father looked at me,"Are you sure this is what you want?"

I nodded,"Yes."

He nodded, licking his lips before looking at Lisa. "Where do I sign?"

Lisa showed him,"If you sign this, it means that you give up all your parental rights over to my husband and I."

She said some more stuff, but I was numb to everything. My father signed his name, and he pushed the papers back to Lisa.

"Thank you, Mr. West," Lisa said, closing her briefcase.

"I would do anything to make my daughter happy," Dad said, looking over at me.

I walked over to the door, and the cops opened it for me.

"Happy late birthday, sunshine," Dad said as I walked out the door.

I turned around, and I said,"Thank you. Goodbye, Dad."

He gave me a side smile,"Goodbye, Campbell."

I walked out of the prison with Lisa behind me. She already called for another Uber, so it was parked outside, waiting for us.

I got into the car, leaving the door open for Lisa. I buckled my seatbelt as Lisa shut her door.

The Uber drove off away from the prison, and I watched trees blurred passed.

"Campbell, sweetie, are you okay?" Lisa asked beside me.

I looked at her with watery eyes,"I didn't realize how hard it would be."

"Come here," Lisa said, opening her arms, scooting closer to me.

My head was on her shoulder and she wrapped her arms around me mother like. She placed her head on top of mine while she hummed a soft tune.

When we made it back to the hotel, the sun was setting. I was exhausted, and all I wanted was to be back home with Brent and everybody else.

That's right, I said home.

Because that's what Midville is to me. My home. Always and forever.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

⭐️⭐️