Charlie POV

I open my eyes to the sun creeping through the leaves of the tree above me, I slept in the local park last night. Although I didn't sleep too well it was actually kind of peaceful knowing that I didn't have anyone to worry about apart from myself, maybe I can do this, maybe I can do life alone. I push my body up into a sitting position, my whole body feels as though it is on fire, I can't help but let out a groan as I move my body so it's resting against the tree trunk. I am mostly hidden where I am sitting, making me reasonably unnoticed by the passers-by, I can stay here for a while but I know as winter approaches it will begin to get too cold to stay out here. I know there is a group of people that live under the bridge on the south side of town, I could head there but I have also heard a few horror stories about the kind of people that live there. I have been told that people become very possessive over their very little amount of property, this results in fights and even fatalities. I shake the image out of my head, I think I would rather be alone then associate myself with those people. Maybe I can find a youth shelter? I think about this option but it soon dawns on me that they will probably just hand me straight back into the system or even juvie once they hear I am a foster runaway. I sigh to myself and look up at the tree, this will do for now, at least until my body heals up. I wince as I pull my shirt up to examine my torso "shit" I say to myself, three quarters of my stomach is covered in multiple bruises ranging in colour from purple, bright red and almost black, that's not good. I can feel from my movements that I probably have a few broken ribs too, this I can deal with I have had them before. My main worry is the dull throbbing in my head that is causing me to feel nauseous and dizzy, If it gets any worse I will have to try see a doctor but for now I will get myself to the local pharmacy and buy some aspirin.

By lunchtime I have managed to get myself some painkillers, the man at the pharmacy kept looking me up and down, unsurprisingly he didn't ask if I was okay though, there are very few people that acknowledge the homeless in this city. Along with the painkillers I filled my bag up with food and a bottle of water. I'm tearing through my money like crazy, I am going to have to be more careful from now on, I don't know when the next time I will come into more money will be.

I took the painkillers as soon as I left the pharmacy which was about thirty minutes ago, they have started to kick in now making it a lot easier to walk. Luckily the walk back to the park isn't too far and I get there within twenty five minutes, it would have been faster but I had to stop a few times to catch my breath. When I am once again under the tree I take a deep breath and support my body down to the ground, sitting down and standing up seems to be the hardest. Once I'm settled I pull out some bread, smelling the bread before I take a bite, I have been so hungry that I just want to eat the whole roll now but I know I need to save it, I let out a sarcastic snigger as I realise I am better fed being homeless than in a actual foster home, how fucked up is that. I eat a quarter of the roll before I wrap it back up and place it in my bag, I feel my eyes becoming heavy as tiredness overcomes my body and mind, it must be the injuries and the painkillers. Making sure I am concealed by the brunches in the trees I place my head a top of my bag and close my eyes as I quickly succumb to unconsciousness.

Stef POV

"DAMMIT!" I slam my hands on the coffee table, I am getting nowhere, I have searched everywhere I can think of to track Charlies whereabouts but there are no leads, not even a single inkling to where she could be living or any information regarding her past. Callie has been on the phone all morning but she hasn't had any luck in that department either. I look up to Callie walking back into the living area "Okay, thank you anyway" I hear her say, she sounds just as I feel, defeated, she ends her phone call and throws the phone on the nearest armchair. She makes her way over to me and sits down, resting her head on my shoulder "Still nothing?" she asks me, I wish I could give her a better answer but the truth is we are no closer then we were to finding Charlie as we were when we started this morning "Sorry love, I still haven't been able to find anything". Callie lets out a sigh and lifts her head off my shoulder to place her face in her hands "What are we going to do Mom? No one is talking to us, we are not considered Charlies family anymore so we are not entitled to any information, this feels impossible!". I wish I could say something to help, to make the situation better but in all honestly Callie is right, we are not getting any closer, I am a police officer yet I cannot find any information whatsoever. I wrap Callie up in a hug "we will keep trying love, she is close, I know she is. Lena said she believes Charlie walked to the school and you saw her walking past work meaning she is out and about, it's not impossible, it just might be a bit harder then we initially thought" I give Callie a reassuring smile but it's met with a look of uncertainty. Suddenly that look submits a glimmer of hope "What if we drive around town? you just said she is out and about, i know it's a long shot but we might just see her and we are no closer to finding her from sitting here are we?" It is a long shot, a very long shot but Callie is right, we are having no luck here so what the heck, I stand up and grab my car keys "Lets try our luck, lets go" Callie is quick to jump up and follow me out the door.

We decide to start off at the school since that was the last place Charlie was seen, the car is silent as Callie and I look at the crossroads outside of the school entry. I try to think to myself what way a thirteen year old girl would go "If it were me I would walk along the beach.. as a foster child I never really had the opportunity to go to a beach so that's what I would do and if Charlie is anything like me she would have done the same" a wave of sadness hits me, I hate having to think of the life Callie had before we found each other, I know there is nothing I can do to change the past but it still hurts when the subject comes up. I give Callie a small smile before I turn down the road that runs along the beach. We come across a group of shops and the art museum "What if we ask in the shops if anyone saw her?" Callie asks me "We don't have a photo but it is a good idea, I'm guessing by the way you and Lena described her that she should be easy to describe to other people" "Well she looks like me doesn't she? We can just ask if they have seen a girl like me but.. I guess scruffier" I look to Callie, she could be a cop one day, she is full of ideas "Good idea love". I pull the car into the nearest car park, we jump out and start off towards the shops.

Three shops down and we are still not any closer, Callie is almost stomping out of the third store I can sense her frustration "We still have a few more to go love, don't give up yet" Callie ignores me as she makes her way into the next store. I walk behind Callie as she walks towards the counter "Hi, how can I help you today?" "Hi, we are just wondering if you saw a girl in this area yesterday? She looks similar to me only a bit younger, she may have looked a bit messy and she had a bruise on her face" Callie says to the store clerk, he takes a good look at Callie "I do remember seeing a girl yesterday. I wouldn't usually take much notice to people walking past the store but this girl grabbed my attention due to the bruise on her face" I see Callie's face light up as I too feel a smile form on my lips, finally, finally we have something to go by, I jump in at this point "Did you see where she went or where she was heading? We are trying to find her" "She went into the art museum, she must have stayed for a little over an hour because I saw her again as I was closing up the store, she headed up Frankburn Street" says the store clerk "Thank you, thank you so much!" Callie blurts out before she almost skips out the door, I thank the man too before I follow Callie out. I know it's not much but at least it is something. Callie almost knocks me over as she turns around and embraces me in a hug, I hug her back with a smile, it's nice to see hope on her beautiful face again. We head back to the car, I start up the ignition and we head towards Frankburn Street.

Callie POV

I can't believe we finally have some more information, I was losing hope but now I have a feeling we might find her, we just have to keep talking to people, I will knock on every house door if I have too. I look over to Stef she is just turning the car into Frankburn Street now, it's a long straight street with lots of houses that are very close together, the houses at the start of the street were well kept but as we continue to drive down they seem to get very worse for wear. I scrunch up my nose, this seems all so familiar, I have lived in houses like this before, during my time in the foster system. The bad feeling in stomach returns, I really hope that Charlie isn't living in one of these houses. My thoughts get cut short as Stef pulls the car to the side of the road "What are we doing?" I ask her, she points her finger at an elderly lady who is working on her garden, it's the one house on this end of the street that looks tidy "Let's ask her if she has seen Charlie" Stef says to me, I nod and we both jump out of the car.

We walk over to the lady and Stef is quick to ask her about Charlie, surprisingly the lady gives us a big grin "Oh yes, I know Charlie, lovely girl she is. She always stops to say hello when she walks past", "Does she walk past often?" I ask, I notice Stef is smiling at me from the corner of my eye, she always says how we are the very much the same so maybe she was just about to ask the same question. The lady nods "Every week or so, she said she likes to get out of her house during the day and she loves to admire the work I have done in my garden. We only ever talk for a few minutes at a time but she always makes time to tell me how good the gardens are looking" the lady in front of me now had a big grin on her face, she was obviously very proud of her gardens "Your gardens are very lovely Mrs...?", "Mrs Grady but most people call me Paula" Paula answers. Paula is very lovely, maybe I jumped to conclusions about this street it might not be too bad after all. Stef is quick to ask a few more questions "I'm Stef and this is my daughter Callie, Charlie is Callies sister and we are trying to find her. Do you have anymore information that might be able to help us?" Paula pauses for a while before she begins to speak again "Like I said we didn't have too many in-depth conversations but she did mention that she lived a few blocks away, she said she lived in a motel but I can't quite remember the name.. maybe it started with an S.. Sunny something.. I'm sorry I really can't remember the name of it" Paula looks as if she is deep in thought "She did mention that when she doesn't walk this way she likes to go and sit in the Fairfield park on the corner of Fairfield street and Turnmount Street, I remember this as she collected a bunch of flowers for me from there a few weeks ago. I was very surprised but very grateful, she said that I was one of the good ones and that I deserve to get flowers." Paula pauses before she starts to talk again "Is she okay? she is a very lovely girl, I know she had something going on in her life, sometimes she had bruises on her face but she always said she had had an accident and waved it off. I didn't ever press her further because she was already walking away down the street" Sadness overwhelms me again as I think about the abuse I have endured in the past and knowing that Charlie has been through the same makes my stomach churn. I am looking down at the ground now, I just want to find her. I listen as Stef talks a bit more to Paula "We hope so, we are going to try our best to find out and make sure she is safe. Here is my number" Stef hands Paula her card "If you hear anything or see Charlie again please give me a call, thanks for talking to us Paula". I give Paula a nod and a smile before I follow Stef back to the car, we take a seat and Stef is already busy on her phone "What now?" I ask, "I am just searching all the motels that are in a 5km radius to where we are now" after a few beats Stef all but yells "Ahh here we go, there is a Sunny Cresent Motel on Turnmount Street and it is also close to Fairmount Park" Stef looks at me with a big smile on her face, she looks so optimistic, I can't believe we have gone from having nothing to maybe having the place where Charlie lives. I smile back at Stef, this is good news, heck this is great news but I still cannot lose the feeling of worry that is bubbling in the pit of my stomach.

Five minutes later we are pulling Stefs SUV into Sunny Cresent Motel, I look at the entirety of the motel, it doesn't look like a pleasant place to live. It is run down and there are a few people sitting outside the rooms smoking cigarettes, some of them look as if they could be on drugs. Stef pulls into the nearest car park, she turns the car off before she looks at me "I'm going to go and talk to reception, you stay here with the doors locked okay" she is not asking me she is telling me, she must not have a good feeling about this place too, I reply to Stef with a quick nod of my head. Stef jumps out of the car and I hear her lock all the doors behind her, although this does not look like a place where a foster child should be placed I really wouldn't be surprised if this is where Charlie has been living, the system is so messed up. I close my eyes and rest my head on the headrest of the car.

Within five minutes I hear the car doors unlock and Stef jumps in beside me, I sit up and stare at Stef hoping for some news, any news. Stef is quick to respond to my thoughts "I talked to reception and they said a girl fitting my description lives in apartment 10B, she said that the girl had been there for a few months now" My heart is racing, and I feel myself sitting up further "I'm going to go up and knock on the door, i'll ask some questions but you need to stay in the car" "What!? No!? If Charlie is up there I need to go too, she probably won't trust you if I am not there with you" There is no way that I am staying in this car, I have already unbuckled my seatbelt and I am ready to knock on that apartment door. Just as I am about to open the car door I feel Stefs hand upon my arm "You stay right behind me okay, there are some people here that I know we cannot trust and I am not letting anything happen to you today. Lena would kill me if she knew I am letting you do this with me" I cannot help the small smile that appears on my lips "I promise I won't do anything stupid and I will stay behind you, Lena doesn't have to know" Stef shakes her head as she jumps out of the car, I hop out too and make my way next to Stef, she holds my hand in hers and we make our way up to apartment 10B.

Sorry if there are any mistakes in this chapter, I wrote it on my phone which proved to be harder for me than on the computer.

Once again let me know what you think, or any ideas where you want this story to go.