We'll always be with you.

*I slowly open my eyes but the blinding lights from the window make me close them immediately.

I then turn and open them again. I look around and see I'm in a familiar place.

A very familiar place.

I sit upright and I look around again. Here I am, sitting on my bed, in my room, in my old house.

Everything is still intact. My princess bed, my purple painted walls, the shelf where all my dolls and teddy were stacked. Everything was where I left them.

I slowly get down from my bed and I walk to my table. Sitting on my table are two pictures.

One, a picture of me smiling widely in front of my thirteenth birthday cake and the second, a picture of me with my parents.

The three of us. Smiling widely at the camera. I pick the picture up and I look at it closely.

We looked happy. At peace, at ease. As if nothing had ever happened.

I looked happy.

It hurt me to look at the picture when I know I have never been happy ever since they left. So I set it down.

I left my room and walked down stairs.

Our old house still looked the same. The same array of pictures were on the wall of the stairs.

From my first birthday picture down to my fifteenth birthday picture.

I look at the picture confused.

When I get to the foot of the stairs, I hear singing coming from the kitchen, so I walk towards it.

The singing becomes louder as I move closer and I stop right at the door when I see the person singing.

"Mom?" I call to her. She jumps a little before she looks at me and smiles.

"Sweetie you scared me." She puts her hand on her chest and smiles. "I see you are awake now. I thought I'd have to come upstairs to wake you myself. Why don't you come sit." She points to the counter. "I'm making bacon and eggs." She gives me a cherry smile.

"Mom?" Is that really you? "I walk towards her. Afraid if I blink, she'll disappear.

"Honey, who else do you think I'll be?" She chuckles.

"Mom?" I rush to her and hug her tightly. "Mom!" I start crying. The tears flow freely down my face as I close my eyes tightly.

Her honey scented perfume fill my nose and I cry harder.

"Sweetie," She caresses my hair. "What's wrong?" She asks softly.

"I missed you. I missed you so much." I say between my tears.

"I didn't go anywhere and I won't." I raise my head.

"But you did! You and dad left me and-"

"Darling, I'll never leave you Your dad, of course he might leave for work, but he'll always come back. Always." She kisses my head.

"But-"

The front door opens and I hear footsteps coming this way.

My dad's head pops in and he smiles.

"Hey family!" He says in a cherry voice.

"Dad!" I rush to hug him.

"Hey kid. What's wrong?"

"She says we'll leave her. She said we left her." My mom says

"Now who told you that gibberish nonsense?" He asks me as he hugs me tighter. "We are going no where whether you like it or not."

"But you did!"

"Kid," He raises my head with his hand so I could look at him. "Even if we do leave, we'll always be with you. No matter where you are, what you are doing or who you are with, we'll always be there."

"Your dad's right." My mom walks to our side. "We are going no where okay?" She says and I nod.

"Now wipe your tears my darling and let's have your mom's bacon and eggs!" My dad shouts and I smile.

My first real smile in eight years.*

I jerk awake and I look around. I'm in my room at my aunt's house and I sigh.

'I knew it was too good to be true.' I think to myself as I stand up to get ready for another hellish day in my aunt's house.