window boy • georgenotfound x oc

22 • it could be her

"I don't want you to leave, Nana!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. I was 5 years old at the time. I couldn't say 'Natalia' properly, so I always called my older sister 'Nana' instead.

"I have to, Corey. I wanna stay, I really do-" I couldn't even let her finish a this point. I didn't understand much of anything, let alone why my best friend was leaving me.  She was 16 then, and despite our age gap we were closer than anyone could imagine.

"No! You don't wanna at all!" I threw my stuffed bunny at her. The soft plush toy was a gift from her. It was pink and quite worn down at this point from how often I carried it around. "And you can take Nini, too! I don't want her anymore!"

I could tell her eyes were watering up, and it almost made me want to take what I said back and hug her. But even at age 5, I was stubborn and too determined to be mad to do that. She just walked away, pulling her suitcase with her. I hadn't seen her since.

"Corey? Are you okay?" George's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I noticed the wet streaks on my face, my vision blurred.

"I..." I wanted to speak but I felt like my voice was trapped in my throat. I looked around in attempting to reattach myself to my surroundings. The car was stopped in a random fast food parking lot. The trio was looking at me, concerned looks washed across all of their faces. "That girl... I know her." Their concerned faces soon turned to confusion.

"The blonde girl that was staring at us?" George asked me. I nodded, unable to use my voice. "Is... is it bad?"

I didn't know how to answer that question. My only memory with Natalia is my last, and even that was something pulled out of the dusty untouched corners of my mind. It's not a good memory, but I don't remember her as a bad person. I guess I didn't remember her as a good person either, so I couldn't really say that she was. I couldn't even give you complete context of the situation with her I do have memory of. I didn't know why she left, but with the new found closed-mindedness of my parents I couldn't assume it was much of a choice. "I don't know," I confessed.

"I need to find her again. Y-You guys are smart, you can help me. Please?" I looked at them with pleading eyes. "I promise I'll explain more when we get to the Airbnb." They glanced between each other and then back at me before nodding.

"Yeah... yeah we will."

-

Before I knew it, Nick was pulling into the parking lot of the one story house. George's hand was on my thigh as my leg bounced up and down rapidly. I took off my seat belt as the car came to a stop, opening my door and stepping out along with the boys. We all walked up to the front of the house and waited for Nick to unlock it in silence. He swung open the front door and the four of us walked inside. We had decided earlier in the car that we would bring in the suitcases and unpack after we had a conversation about... her.

We all found a seat in the living room, sitting in a circle. It was silent. The trio looked over to me. I took a breath before speaking, "Okay, uh... I think she's my sister."

"You have a sister?!" George exclaimed, confused.

"Who are we even talking about?" Nick asked, just as confused but definitely not for the same reason.

"This blonde girl at the airport was staring them down, that's literally it. Now, Corey, talk," Clay said, getting straight to the point. 'INTJ headass, I can see it from here.'

"Okay, if I'm right then her name is Natalia and she's 11 years older than me... so, like, 31-ish." I felt George grab my hand. I guess it was in a way of support, but in a way, I wasn't really anxious anymore, just goal oriented and determined. "I feel like it was her. I-I can't explain why, I just know. Her eyes... looked so fucking familiar. It has to be her."

Nick opened his mouth, "Okay, so what do we do?" I looked to him, thinking. I could tell Clay was thinking of a plan, too, while the other two boys waited for one of us two say something.

"Social media is gonna be our best bet," Clay spoke up. George nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so we search Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, all of it. If she has the same last name, she should be Natalia Williams. She was born in Ontario, I think... I don't know anything else. She probably either lives in Canada or America," I added in all the info I could. Everyone got out their phones. 'Time to find her.'