"Next storeeee." Rose cheers as we walk out of the previous one. I got one of the prettiest coats I've ever seen.

Green.

It's warm and it has pockets. A lot of pockets. And none of them has holes in them!

I wanted to wear my coat right away but Lizzie insisted that it wasn't necessary since we're inside a mall. She and Scarlett are wearing a coat so she is being a hypocrite.

That's a new word I learned from Rose. Apparently, her mother is a big hypocrite because Rose wasn't allowed to snack once and she later discovered Scarlett had secretly eaten her cookie.

The hypocrite joins Lizzie by her side as Rose and I walk up front. I've never been to a mall and it's a bit overwhelming. There are a lot of stores and even more people.

Rose seems to notice I'm a bit anxious since she takes my hand and squeezes it firmly, looking up to reassure me.

"No way. Kids, come here." The hypocrite mumbles as she stands in front of a store with wide eyes. We all stand next to her, Lizzie laughing as Rose cheers.

"Mommy mommy we need to get that for Casey!" Rose shouts before running inside the store. "Scarlett I don't think-" Lizzie starts, but Scarlett waves it away, following her daughter.

Lizzie walks up to me and picks me up. I lean into her as we approach the two. They're holding a grey shirt in their hand with big smiles. Without even asking me or Lizzie, Scarlett walks to the checkout and pays for it.

She hands it to Lizzie who takes me and the shirt to a dressing room. Once she puts the shirt on me, she laughs uncontrollably. "This is amazing." She mumbles before taking a picture.

We both walk out of the changing room, being met by a squeaking Rose. She jumps up and down before pointing at my shirt. "Okay I'm going to ask you a question and you'll respond by pointing at your shirt." She states before furrowing her eyebrows.

I look down at my shirt. It is way too big since it's an adult size, but it is very comfortable. If I read correctly it has the text "Am I drunk?" on it. With two checkboxes, yes and no.

"Why is green your favourite colour?" She asks me intently, making both Scarlett and I giggle. "Rose honey, there's only yes and no on the T-shirt." Scarlett explains, resulting in a pouting Rose. Scarlet walks up to the counter and borrows a marker, starting to write on my shirt.

"You can ask her a different question Rose, she has more options now." Scarlett smiles warmly at me. It takes Rose forever to come up with a question. "Come on Rose." Scarlett chuckles. Rose looks frustrated at her "Don't rush me, mama." She answers.

I tilt my head with a sly smirk and point at my shirt.

Rose smiles widely before answering "I call her mommy because she takes care of me and makes me feel safe. No matter what happens, I know she'll be there for me." Rose answers casually.

I think about her answer, even though that is not what I meant. This system is definitely not foolproof. "I don't think that is what she meant." Lizzie chuckles. I nod in agreement, glad she picked up on it.

"You shouldn't rush Rose because she is easily distracted and if you ask too many things at once she won't answer any of your questions." Scarlett explains, making me smile.

"Okay next store!" Rose cheers as she claps her hands. I look down at my shirt with a wide smile before pointing.

Rose takes my hand and drags me along to a clothing store not much further. She and Scarlett go their separate ways, leaving me and Lizzie alone.

"How about this?" She asks me. I turn around to see her wearing one of the biggest hats I've ever seen. I giggle, trying to reach for it but I'm nowhere close. She chuckles as she picks me up, setting me on her hips as she puts the hat on my head.

I look in the mirror, barely able to see since the hat is covering half my face. She takes it off me and is about to put me down when I grab her sunglasses. She smiles at me before helping me put them on my face.

We both look into the mirror, laughing since the glasses are way too big. Our laughter stops when we hear a loud gasp behind us. We turn around to see a young girl looking at us with wide eyes. Lizzie puts me down carefully tilting her head at the girl who runs away screaming.

She laughs before taking the glasses from me and putting them back on. "We can get you your own sunglasses later Casey, but you also need some new clothes." She smiles warmly as she walks away.

I run up to her, grabbing her hand as we continue to walk through the store. "Why don't you go see if you can find something you like over there." She says softly as she points a bit further into the store.

I shake my head, pointing no at my shirt, making her chuckle. "It'll be okay I'm right over here, just let me know if you find something." She smiles gently.

I let her hand go and walk to the section she pointed at. When I turn around she is giving me a thumbs up. I relax a bit, going through some clothes. There's one I really like so I take it out, I want to show it to Lizzie but stop when I see the price.

I remember granny becoming very upset when I showed her something with this price from the bookstore. So I put it back slowly, seeing a familiar woman in the corner of my eye.

Granny!

I run after her, but she doesn't seem to see me. We're almost at the exit when I finally manage to catch up with her. I hug her legs, almost making us fall but she doesn't seem to mind. "Well hello there." She smiles.

I immediately let go and look up at her, my smile disappearing. That isn't granny. I smile awkwardly before running back to Lizzie. At least I attempt to do so. After a few minutes of running around, I take a break, establishing that I'm lost.

This happened a few times in the bookstore and everything always turned out to be alright, so I'm not scared. But this is a very big store. "When lost, always go to someone who works here." I hear Dylan repeat in my mind.

I look around to find someone who works here, but I don't see anyone. So I walk around until I see a checkout. I stand in line, waiting a while until it's my turn. "How can I- oh hello." The woman behind the counter smiles genuinely.

I look down at my shirt, thinking about what is going to help me.

She gets away from the checkout and crouches down to my height. "Where? Are you lost?" She asks carefully. I nod as I point to with a beaming smile. Thank you, Scarlett. "Are you here with your mother?" She continues to ask. I think about it for a second, recalling what Rose told me.

"I call her mommy because she takes care of me and makes me feel safe. No matter what happens, I know she'll be there for me."

Lizzie takes care of me and makes me feel safe. I'm not sure if she'll always be there for me, but so far she has. So I think she is my mother?

I nod slowly, pointing at yes once again. "Okay don't worry, I'll help you find her. What does she look like?" She states. She is nice, I like this woman. I look down at my shirt, starting to panic a bit when I don't see anything that could help me.

I take a deep breath, looking around me to make sure nobody is around. Except for the woman and me, there is nobody within hearing distance. I shovel a bit closer to her, whispering in her ear "Pretty."

She smiles widely at me as she nods. "Okay, let's go find her." She says as she reaches her hand out for me to take. I take it with ease, but pull away when I remember rule number one. "I don't care what they say, never go with a stranger."

I stop dead in my tracks, not wanting to break any more rules today. But then rule two pops into mind. "If you get hurt you find an adult, preferably a woman who has kids herself, and you let her bring you back to me."

I am not hurt and I don't know if she has kids, but I do need someone to bring me back to her and she is a woman. I sigh, feeling frustrated at the contradicting instructions. I decide to go with the woman but to not hold her hand. I believe it's the best way to get back to her.

"Casey?!" I hear someone shout behind me. Mama! I turn around and run up to her, she catches me as she lifts me in the air. "Thank god you're okay." She mumbles as she holds me tight.

The woman from the store walks past us, winking at me before whispering "She is indeed pretty."