We're On Our Own

Izzy couldn't ignore a person in need. That particular trait of hers had gotten her into a fair amount of trouble over the years but when she recognized a kindred spirit, she had to do something for them.

These kids looked worn out, scared, and one of them was covered in injuries. Something terrible must have happened to them.

She didn't believe any nonsense about time machines but they had some sort of secret they weren't able to talk about in order to come up with such a ridiculous story. But that girl Roz didn't seem like she was lying when she said her parents didn't remember her.

Maybe these three would make more sense after they had eaten something. Food always helped her feel more like her head was screwed on right. Based on the state of them, they probably hadn't eaten in a while.

Why would that be if they were truly part of the ultra-rich Shea family? The boy might have been making that part up considering he had also gone off about a time machine but what purpose would that serve?

In all her years of being around liars, she knew they didn't tend to do it unless they had a reason. The kids back in her old foster homes lied to protect themselves. What would these kids need to protect themselves from? What horrible thing had they left behind?

They didn't look terribly old. The oldest couldn't be more than ten or eleven and the youngest looked like she was in preschool.

Izzy finished up her shift in a state of unease and got them to follow her out to her car. It was fairly beat up but ran well considering its age. Her car payment was less than $150 a month, which was far better than it would be if she had bought a new one.

She lived in a studio apartment so it would be a tight squeeze for four people but the little one might be able to sleep with her, another could have the couch, and she could make a blanket pallet for whoever took the floor. The real problem would be potentially feeding this many people for more than a couple of days.

Hopefully, whatever issue they had could be resolved by then because her bank account wouldn't be able to take it. She was a struggling novelist no one would publish despite how much her creative writing professors in college praised her work, hence her job at the library.

It wasn't so bad since she was still surrounded by books and could check out any that seemed interesting much more easily since she was the one processing and shelving them but it didn't pay very well. She could have done a lot worse for a job straight out of college with a creative writing degree but it was what it was.

"I was going to heat up a frozen lasagna but if you guys want to eat something else—" Izzy began as she started driving home.

Roz interrupted her. "That's fine. We appreciate anything you can give us. Thank you."

So polite! How old was she, anyway? She wasn't terribly tall; maybe four and a half feet. That was no real indicator of age. Her brother was about the same height.

"Hey, um, not to be rude or anything…but how old are you guys?"

"I'm twelve, Ed's eight, and Nora is five," she replied.

Izzy's heart ached. These kids were way too young to be dealing with whatever was going on with them. No kid deserved to struggle for survival. She had spent enough time on the streets herself to feel especially strongly about that.

Maybe that was why she took them in despite the fact that they were liars, possibly with delusions of grandeur. She understood where they were coming from.

She couldn't deny that the way Nora called her Mommy earlier pulled at her heartstrings too. The poor thing was so confused she didn't know what was what. Being her mother was impossible considering Izzy hadn't so much as kissed a man.

Guys thought she was weird, which was why she never got more than a date or two out of them. Not that it mattered all that much to her. She had her books to get romantic fulfilment from. No real-life man could ever measure up to a good male lead anyway!

"Are you sure you don't have anyone looking for you?" she asked hesitantly, getting back on topic.

How reckless were these kids' parents to not notice that all three of them were missing? Roz claimed they didn't remember them…did they have dementia? Then who was taking care of them? They had to have some sort of guardian.

When Izzy was on the streets, she had run away from her abusive mom and her crazy drunk boyfriend. Neither of them ever came looking for her so when social services picked her up and she made up a name they couldn't trace back to them, she disappeared into the system under a new identity.

Her birth name had been Isadora Brinkley and she had always loathed that name, preferring to be called Izzy. What kid wants to be saddled with a mouthful like Isadora?

Choosing a name that could use the same nickname was the obvious choice and she picked 'Hansen' at random. From the moment she ran away, she knew she would have to shed her old identity so she made sure she had a new name ready in case she got caught.

She told the social workers her parents had died and she didn't have any other relatives so when the house was repossessed, she had ended up on the streets elsewhere in Illinois and took a bus to Chicago. There wasn't enough information for them to look into it deeply and she was able to get away with it since her mom never filed a missing person report.

Her hope had been that someone nice would adopt her but that never happened. She was as alone as she ever was. Book characters were her friends and family, especially the ones she created herself.

"We're sure," Ed said grimly. "We're on our own."

Izzy couldn't help but wonder if their situation was anything like hers. But if it was, why would they choose such an ostentatious person to be their fake father?

It was also strange that their mother had the same nickname she did. That reminded her… "If you say so. Guys, don't call me Isabel, okay? I prefer Izzy, like your mom."

"That's cuz you are!" Nora piped up.

She frowned. Izzy wasn't a very common nickname. She had never met anyone else that used it. They said their parents were named Izzy and Julian Shea…but didn't mention what their mom's maiden name was.

All pictures of her before age seven when she ran away from home had been lost so she had no clue what she looked like at Nora's age but she couldn't deny the girl had similar coloring to her aside from her eyes. Her hair had been lighter when she was a kid. Ed's eyes were almost the exact same shade of hazel as hers though.

Time travel…of all the wild stories to come up with, why would they use that specifically? That wasn't anywhere near a believable lie.

"Nora," Roz said warningly.

Izzy noticed she didn't refute the girl's statement but was still trying to get her not to talk. Wouldn't it make more sense to say 'hey, she's not our mom'? Were these kids all stuck in the same delusion or could they possibly be telling the truth?

But that was too farfetched! Time travel was nothing more than a flight of fancy people liked reading about or watching on TV.

Besides, they said their dad was Julian Shea. Who hadn't heard of the Sheas in this city? There was no way someone with her sketchy background could marry into that illustrious family. They were bluebloods with generations of history; they wouldn't want to taint their bloodline.

Julian Shea…she hadn't heard anything about him specifically aside from the fact that he was a rising star in the company and was the youngest product development department head ever. An article about him popped up as she was browsing the internet a few months ago and all she saw was the headline.