"Are you Miss Lynette Parker?"

The officer standing outside my door glanced at me with a blank expression. I kept the chain on my door for obvious reasons so I could only reply through the crack, "I am. What can I do for you?"

The officer and his partner seemed to tense up before their faces changed to express their sadness and empathy. 

"Miss Parker, we are from the X District police station. We have come to inform you that..." he paused before continuing, "We are sorry to inform you that your mother, Evelyn Parker, was involved in an accident at work."

"I'm so sorry Miss Parker. Your mother unfortunately passed away at 5:45 p.m. this evening."

And my entire world came crashing down.

——————[oo]——————

The next couple of days went by in a blur. 

At first, I stayed holed up in my room, sobbing and basically crying my eyes out. And then after my tears ran out, I slowly began trying to process what just happened and trying to wrap my head around the fact that my mother was dead and that she would no longer be coming back to me. It was, quite frankly, the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my whole life. The pain of losing a loved one is just a pain on a different type of level. Though I've never once dated in all my sixteen years of life, I'd imagine that this was way worse than a breakup or betrayal. 

I was sixteen and I had just lost my mother. 

I was sixteen but I knew that it would take me a long time to recover from this loss and from the shock I received. 

There were many who told me that I was being very strong but that wasn't the truth. I just cried in secret when my temporary guardian was not in sight. I cried by myself because none of the people who came over to look after me or who came to the funeral were people I knew and trusted. Crying in front of complete strangers was something I had a fear of. 

When they lay my mother's body into the grave, I allowed a few tears to escape but quickly brushed them away while biting my lip till it bled. And once the ceremony was over, I disappeared from everyone's sight and curled up in a corner and sobbed my eyes out for the nth time. 

By the time I came out, everyone had been frantically searching for me. It was nice to know they cared and I appreciated everything they were trying to do for me but as somewhat of an introvert, it was difficult for me to express my feelings in front of them. My neighbours, my mother's coworkers, and the social worker were all good people but I wasn't close to any of them. They - no matter how good they were - were not my family.

A day after the funeral, my social worker sat me down in the living room of my mom and I's apartment and said; 

"Lynette, originally, we were going to find you a guardian to take you in or find you a nice foster home but now there is no need to. Based on the information you provided, we were able to track down your biological father and he has agreed to take you in with full custody and guardianship."

I was surprised, "My father?"

When Ms. Evans, my social worker, had asked for information on any other family members, I had mentioned to her about my father. A father I barely remembered since the last time I saw him was when I was five. He and my mother split around that time and for reasons unknown, I had zero contact with him all these years. I did ask my mother about him on occasion but I never received a straight answer from her. Their divorce was a messy one and out of it, he had custody of my two older brothers while mom had custody over me. I don't know why they kept us separate but I think that whatever made them breakup in the first place was so bad that they didn't want anything to do with each other again entirely. Even going as far as to cut contact with the children (child) they had no custody over.

Hence the reason I was so surprised. 

To be honest, I didn't even think that Ms. Evans would be able to find him based on what little information I gave her. What's more shocking to me is that he agreed to take me in. Whether it was out of obligation or not, I was grateful that I didn't have to be placed into the system.

However, I was also worried and sceptical. I have no memories of him and know absolutely nothing about him or my brothers. I didn't know what they were like or whether they would like me. I tried comforting myself saying that anything was better than being placed into the foster care system but that did nothing to ease my heart. 

"W-When do I leave?" I asked in a hoarse voice. 

Ms Evans replied, "The week after next. There are things that we need to sort before you leave such as the apartment, your belongings, and your mother's will which the lawyer will be briefing us on tomorrow."

"I see..." I didn't even know she had a will. "Is that all?"

Ms Evans looked at me with pity. I think she could tell I was slightly overwhelmed by the whole conversation so she politely nodded, "That's all. You go have some rest now while I get some food ready, yeah?"

I nodded and thanked her before heading back to my room and shutting the door.

——————[oo]——————

Within a blink of an eye, a week had passed. 

It was now Thursday and it was time for me to leave. When I looked at the empty apartment, a pit of sadness welled up inside of me and memories of my mother and I in here flashed through my mind. I began tearing up again so I hastily rubbed my eyes unwilling to board the flight with reddened puffy eyes. 

"Shall we?" Ms Evans asked.

"...Yeah."

Closing the door behind us, I willed myself not to look back and made my way over to the elevator where we got in and went down to the ground floor. Once there, we stepped out and exited the apartment building, waving goodbye to the landlord as we passed, and got inside Ms. Evan's company vehicle. My suitcases with my clothes and necessities were already loaded into the boot so all that was left was to go to the airport.

The drive was mostly silent. Ms Evans seemed to understand that I didn't feel like talking so after a couple of words at the beginning of the trip, she otherwise kept silent and simply let the soft jazz music play from the radio.

The drive to the airport was an hour long. Normally, it would be longer but since it was the middle of the day in the middle of the week, traffic was scarce going to the airport allowing a smooth drive with minimal stops.

After we finally made it to the airport, Ms Evans helped me unload and waited for me to check in before saying her goodbyes.

"Here is the phone number you can contact if you're in trouble," she said handing me a note. "I suggest you enter it in your phone immediately in case you lose the paper."

I nodded and did as she said. 

When it was time for the security check, I knew that this would most likely be the last time we would see each other. Glancing at her, I hesitated at first but eventually wrapped my arms around her, hugging her awkwardly before pulling away with a red face. She looked at me surprised but not repulsed. 

"T-Thank you for everything. Truly. I...I honestly don't know what I would've done without you helping me," I told her with red cheeks. It was embarrassing for me but it had to be done. Ms Evans really helped me a lot despite it just being her job. 

"Oh sweetheart," she said with slightly red eyes. "You're ever so welcome. I am glad that I was able to be of help to you. You've been through a lot and you've handled things extremely well making my job easier so I should also express my thanks. If...If you ever need anything or if something happens with your family, just know that you can call me and I'll come pick you up right away."

I responded with a nod and a tiny grin. 

"Now go on," she urged, "Or you'll be late."

With one final goodbye, I walked away.