Prologue

June

I grew up in a loving home. One that was filled with laughter and more love than I could handle. My parents not only loved me, but they loved one another. I can't remember a time when my dad wasn't touching my mom in some way when they were in the same room, whether it was her back, kissing her cheek, or holding her hand in his. They were so in love as they had been since high school. Yep, they were high school sweethearts.

Having the life I did, I went through life with rose-colored glasses, believing love was a fairytale and love was all-consuming. When I was five, my parents sat me down and told me I was adopted. With tears in her eyes, she explained that she couldn't carry one, no matter how much they tried. They went to a foster home, and a week later, they had me. I was five months old. I was initially confused, unable to understand what she was telling me. She was just my mom, but as I got older, it all clicked, and I understood. It changed nothing for me. They were my parents and loved me beyond measure, so anything else was irrelevant.

When I was sixteen, my mom gave me a letter from my birth mom, and when I read it, I realized I was doubly loved. It read:

My beautiful baby girl,

You have no idea how much I love you and wish that I could keep you and raise you with your father. We made you in love and planned just that, but before I could tell him about you, my life was irreparably changed, and so was my plan. So, I had to make the hardest choice of my life, but I know it is the right one. I want you to have the best life with everything good you deserve in the world, so the only way I could do it was to give you up. I hope you go to a family that will love you. All I asked of whoever was blessed with you is to name you after a month of the year. I know it sounds crazy, but it is to honor your father's mother. Who knows, maybe we will cross paths one day, and I will know it is you.

I love you, my angel.

Always,

Your Mom

That letter will be with me for the rest of my life and is in my box of memories. When I was eighteen, the night of graduation, my parents were leaving the party they had for me since I was staying with my best friend, and on their way home, they were hit by a drunk driver, and both of them died. Suddenly, I found myself alone and devastated. I wanted to curl up in a ball and let life take me away, but then all of their hopes and dreams for me wouldn't let me. So, I enrolled in community college, got a job at an office as a clerk, and did my best to move on. So now, why does it feel so lonely?