Chapter 1

"Happy Birthday sweetheart," are the first words that I hear as the morning light seeps itself into my bedroom. I flutter my eyes open and glance around my bedroom, looking at the purple walls and the pictures of my friends all over my mirror. I then glance over to the figure that's making my bed move and see my little sister bouncing on my bed, with my mother and father smiling down at me.

They aren't my real family. They are my adoptive family, and you can clearly tell. My mother, well Lauren as I sometimes call her, has long blonde hair with deep green eyes and a curvaceous body. I'll admit she is pretty beautiful for someone who is in her mid-thirties. She can be sometimes over-emotional, which I put to being constantly on her period, but on some occasions she can be wonderful and loving, like a real mom, but to me she doesn't show the full extent of love because I am not her flesh and blood, and I'm okay with that.

My father, well again, Shaun, is near enough the same. He has cropped blonde hair and green eyes, and slight stubble on his jaw, complementing his tanned summer skin. His persona's different though. He's very calm and patient. He can put up with all my 'nobody understands me' moods and is just there when I need someone. I think that he is beautiful, both inside and out. All my family are beautiful, they are all the same. They all have the same characteristic of blonde hair and green eyes. The only thing that separates them is their personalities.

Amy, my 'sister' is adorable. She's only ten, yet she talks like a teenager. I bet my friend, Lizzie 50 bucks one day, saying that when Amy comes to High School, she is going to be the most popular girl in school. Lizzie told me that it wasn't a fair bet because we all know that it is going to happen, but she agreed anyway.

Amy is a bundle of energy; she has long blonde hair, like her, 'our' mother, and striking green eyes. She looks like a mini version of some supermodel, Amy keeps telling me her name but I just zone it out, not really into all that modelling. Amy is though, she said that she wants to be a model, but I'm putting that aspiration down to the fact that she is only ten and doesn't know half of the other great jobs that are out there.

I on the other hand am a completely different story. My name is Megan Noakes. Noakes is my adoptive family's last name, and I don't really know my real last name. It's weird right? I mean, I should know all about my biological family, but whenever I ask, my 'parents' just dismiss it quickly.

I have long, dark, chocolate brown hair, which people at school say they'd kill for, as living in California, near enough everyone has the beach look going on, and so when I walk past with dark hair, they instantly do a double take. I really don't understand it though. I also have cobalt blue eyes. I get them from my father. I know that because I asked Shaun once, and it was the only time that he told me something about my family; "From your father, your mother doesn't have blue eyes." He also said that my button nose comes from my mother and I just nodded.

I lean up from my bed and brush the stray hairs of my long brown hair off my face. Today is my sixteenth birthday, yes the big sweet sixteen. My 'parents' insisted that I have a big birthday party and invite all of my friends. I like parties, I love them, but when it's a party thrown for me I don't like it so much. I do have lots of friends and I go to loads of parties, but having one all for me gets me a little embarrassed, I prefer to have a good time, dancing with my friends not caring if the party is going well or not because it is not mine to worry about. So, when my 'parents' offered I just said "no thanks, I'd rather just go out for a few hours," and they just nodded their head in understanding.

"Happy Birthday love," Lauren says as she puts her hand on Amy's shoulders to stop her from jumping anymore. My 'mother' sits down next me and hands me a little box with silver wrapping paper. I open it and gasp when it reveals the one present that I have been constantly going on about for the past three months. It's a little necklace with my name in fancy writing. I hug Lauren tightly and whisper thank you, and she just nods in reply.

Don't get me wrong, I love my family, and I'm sure they love me. The Noakes family are renowned for their generous love, which is projected by the display of me; their adoptive daughter. The girl who was given to the Noakes after two years of being married to one another, even though they had been together since high school. But I am grateful; I get a great life that so many people would kill for. I have friends, lots of friends. I'm head cheerleader, which surprised my mother and sister as they aren't really big on cheerleading. I go to parties and have fun, but I don't drink, and I sure as hell haven't had sex yet.

We are very wealthy, that's because Shaun owns a major telecom industry, and Lauren is a party planner. This house that we live in is huge. It's like one of those mansions that you see on Teen Cribs, with the swimming pool and the ridiculous amount of bedrooms. It doesn't feel like a home to me, but maybe that is because my real home is somewhere else, with my real family. Basically this is what I am trying to say, the Noakes are the 'it' family; the popular, outgoing, overly caring family.

"Here you go darling," Shaun says in his deep voice as he hands me a small pink envelope with my name written on the top in gold ink. I trace my fingers along the writing and know that it's not familiar. "What's this?" Is what I ask in a quiet tone, noticing my 'parents' shift uncomfortable, and Amy, acknowledging that, goes silent.

"It's from your mother Megan." I look up shocked at Lauren who looks back at me with worried and sad eyes. My real mother sent me something? I don't even know her name, I don't even know what she looks like, and I highly doubt that she knows what I look like. I have never received anything from my biological family, nothing. Not one card or phone calls, no pictures, nothing. It was like I didn't even exist, that they forgot about me a long time ago.

"We saved it love," Shaun breaks the silence and I look at him confused, but he carries on anyway. "When you were born, your mother gave us this envelope and told us to save it for your sixteenth birthday, where we would give it to you."

"I-I don't understand," I say, knowing I sound completely and utterly stupid but I really couldn't care. I wake up, on my birthday to get this? What the hell is going on?

"Megan honey, we don't know what it says, or even what's in it but she really wanted you to read it. Now if you want to read it on your own that is okay, we can leave." I just nod my head in response and look up to see Lauren's eyes full of hurt but she and Shaun leave anyway. Amy grips onto my arm, not wanting to leave. I love her to death, to me she is my sister, and she loves me as well, we are so close, but I don't want to share this.

"Come on Amy love, she wants to be alone." Amy looks up at me and I just nod my head again. Amy sighs as she brushes my arm softly and takes hold of Lauren's hand leaving me in my bedroom.

I open the envelope seal with seriously shaky hands. I don't know why I am like this, I never get nervous or upset, and I never show my emotions. I breathe heavily as I flip it open and pull out a piece of crisp white paper, folded in half. I carefully unfold the paper and look at the writing. It's neat and curved, like mine but more sophisticated. I close my eyes as I try to picture my mother writing this, but all I get is fuzzy blackness.

Opening my eyes again, I read the writing, taking time to really read each line.

Megan, well I hope you like the name. I didn't really do much thinking of the names but my friend told me that I should call you Megan and I instantly fell in love. So, if you are reading this, then I have gone through with the adoption, and you are now sixteen years old. Happy Birthday! Sometimes I feel like I can't give you up, you are a part of me and I don't think that I could do this, but it looks like I have. Sorry.

Sorry? Is she being fucking serious? 'Oh, I gave you up for adoption, sorry!' I start to get angry, but then I feel bad, she probably didn't really have a choice. Oh, what the hell am I saying, of course she had a fucking choice, and she chose to give me up!

Please don't be mad, I need to tell you the whole story. I'm in L.A. Your father doesn't know you exist, neither does anyone apart from the friend who I told you, called you Megan. I am seventeen, too young, god, I hope that you aren't pregnant, while you're reading this!

I laugh slightly, feeling less anger towards this woman. I mean, if I was pregnant right now, I sure as hell wouldn't keep the baby. I know that sounds horrible, but I need to live my life before I introduce a new one into the world. But it hurts to know that only one person knew that my mother was pregnant, I was secret.

Anyway, please know that this was such a hard decision for me, but I feel that the family you are going to go to is perfect. They will give you everything you need that I can't provide you right now. I understand that you probably want to know everything, and I would love to tell you, but I don't want to like this. The friend who knows is called Haley James-Scott, triple name, I know. If I do not live in Tree Hill anymore, than go visit her, I'll write her address of the back of the picture I give to you. If you want, you can go there, tell her your name, and she will tell you everything. Hopefully you will go, and I'm what now… 33 and I haven't seen my daughter?! Please go, I promise you will find out everything. I'll be waiting, but if you don't come, I won't mind, I understand completely.

Love always, Mom.

Tears are streaming down my face, and I have no idea why. Quickly I search in the envelope for the picture with the address she told me about, and smile when I see a girl laughing at the camera, posing in her cheerleading outfit. "Ravens," I breathe as I stare at her face. She isn't my mother, I can tell as I don't feel that feeling you know? I don't feel that instant connection of love that people say you feel when you see your biological family. And plus, my mother has drawn an arrow next to the girl's face saying, 'Haley James-Scott.'

I turn the picture over and see the address written in the same writing as the letter. I look at it and sigh, knowing that if I go, I will crush my 'family' and I don't want to hurt them, I really don't, but this is something that I need to find more about.

I hear a knock on the door and quickly shove the picture and letter back in the envelope, wiping my eyes. I know for sure that they will know that I have been crying, my eyes are red and puffy. "Megan, can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure, come in." Lauren opened the door tentatively and looked at me. She rushed, over and I instantly felt guilt. I needed to tell her that I wanted to leave, and go to this place called Tree Hill. I live in California. and it's great but Tree Hill. The name sounds homely, it sounds like my home.

"Oh, baby what's wrong?" She rubs my arm soothingly, and I feel even guiltier. If I leave what will happen? Amy will be crushed and I will feel terrible, but this is my chance to find out everything, see my mother for the first time, and I can't help but feel excited.

"I want to leave."

"Megan honey, I don't understand…"

"She says that I can go visit her friend, Haley, in Tree Hill, she's wrote the address down. She said that if I go, Haley will tell me everything and take me to see her, to see my mother." I looked into Lauren's eyes and saw the pain when I said the word mother. I knew that it hurt her but she isn't my real mother, and I hate myself for saying that, but she isn't.

"B-but, what if she doesn't live there anymore? This is stupid! Dropping everything just over some letter, one letter!"

"Please, don't shout, I know that this is upsetting-"

"Upsetting?! Actually, you know what," Lauren got up and grabbed my pink suitcase from my wardrobe and started to fill it up with my clothes, "you go! Go to your special family, leave!"

"Mom…what are you doing?"

"Don't! Don't call me your mother! I am not your mother, and I never will be. So leave, got to Tree Hill, find your mother." She spat out the words and I started to cry again. Why was she being like this? They must have heard the shouting because Shaun and Amy came in. Amy jumped by my side tears spilling down her cheeks, "is this true Megan, are you leaving?"

"Yes, she is Amy! She is going to her precious birth family. Here's money for a flight. Here's your passport. Here are your clothes. Now go, and don't ever come back!"

"Lauren," Shaun said as he tried to calm his wife down. She was kicking me out, and I couldn't really blame her. She hated me for wanting to leave. Lauren just broke down and cried as Shaun held whispering sweet nothings to calm her down. It was silent, tension building immensely.

I picked up the cash and passport and grabbed something to wear. I decided to go for dark blue skinny jeans, and a red tank top, putting a black leather jacket over the top. I shoved the money and passport in my jacket pocket and grabbed the handle of my suitcase. I walked to Amy and kissed her forehead and whispered "goodbye," as I opened the door to my bedroom leaving the traumatic scene behind me as I called for a taxi, ready to head to Tree Hill. Ready to see the infamous Haley James-Scott.