Lonely Hearts

By TVDFANPAM

Chapter 1

First Meeting

Loneliness was a feeling she was well acquainted with. Her whole young life she felt alone. Her mother could barely tolerate being in the same room as her. She was a constant reminder of a bad decision. Ana was the result of a drunken one night stand when her mother was a teenager; home for the holidays from her first semester of college.

Carla should have given the baby up for adoption but she didn't want to be judged so she kept her baby instead. Bad idea. She never bonded with her daughter and as a result, Ana grew up feeling unloved and unwanted. As an escape from a lonely childhood, Ana began reading at an early age. By the end of her kindergarten year, she could read books by herself. By 3rd grade, she had read almost all of the books in the school library. The librarian was amazed but also bewildered.

Ana never knew her father, just that he supported her and her mother. Her mother Carla did graduate college, it just took longer than expected. Carla was a teacher at the same elementary school that her daughter attended. Her co-workers were amazed she had a daughter; she never talked about her unless someone asked directly. Carla was very immature for her age and was in denial over having a daughter old enough to go to school. If anyone asked about Ana, she said she was a mistake she made in college.

Ana's fourth grade teacher encouraged her students to write in a journal every day. She was a big advocate of pouring out your feelings on paper instead of keeping things bottled up inside. She was also the mother of Ana's new friend Kate. Being friends with Kate was a game changer for Ana. For the first time in a long time, she had someone to talk to and someone who would listen to her. Kate had a brother who was three years younger and annoying as only a little brother can be. Kate's mother quickly saw how Carla was towards her own daughter and encouraged Kate to invite Ana over to their house frequently.

The Cavanaugh family became Ana's family during sixth grade when Ana's mom Carla was driving home from a date and was killed by a drunk driver. They brought her home with them and filed for adoption. Ana's biological father was contacted and he gave up his rights to his daughter and the adoption was official. The Cavanaugh's had a family meeting and asked Ana if she would like to have her name changed to Cavanaugh since she was now a member of the family.

Ana cried and cried. She was so touched that someone finally wanted her; she said she was happy to have the Cavanaugh name. That was the beginning of a new era for her. She thrived under their care and Mrs. Cavanaugh encouraged Ana to continue to write. She took Ana to writing seminars in the summers and Mrs. Cavanaugh found writers blogs for Ana to follow.

By the time Ana was in high school, she had written two books about adoption and hope. Mrs. Cavanaugh edited them and sent them in to Scholastic book publishers and they were amazed by her writing skills and honesty in writing what she truly felt about being adopted. Scholastic offered to publish her books; one was about her life before adoption and one was about her life after being adopted. She was stunned. She just wanted to get it out of her head and didn't think that anyone would really want to read what she wrote. She was amazed when the publishers called and wanted to interview her for a magazine they put out featuring new and upcoming authors.

She was sixteen years old and had written two books! Not many girls her age could say that. Ana was still stunned at the drastic change in her life after being adopted by the Cavanaugh's. Her friend Kate was now a beloved sister and the girls were very close. Ethan, was now an annoying little brother to two big sisters. He thought life wasn't fair!

Ana was asked to be on the Today show after one of the show's producer's children brought home her books. She was nervous and wasn't sure what to expect. The whole family came with her for support. They asked her why she wrote about adoption and she said because it was the greatest gift she could have been given. That her life before being adopted was so sad that she had contemplated suicide on more than one occasion. Mrs. Cavanaugh started crying when she heard Ana say that. She didn't know it had been that bad for Ana.

After the family went back home to Seattle Washington, Mr. and Mrs. Cavanaugh decided that Ana needed to go to therapy since she had revealed her suicidal thoughts. They thought it would be a good idea for Ana to talk to a specialist in early childhood trauma. They chose Dr. Flynn, who was highly regarded in the field of Child Psychology.

Ana and Mrs. Cavanaugh were sitting in the waiting room after checking in to see Dr. Flynn. Ana was nervous, she didn't think she needed to see a Psychologist. Her new family wanted her to though and she would do whatever they wanted. She owed them everything and there wasn't much they could ask of her that she wouldn't do.

The ladies were ushered into the good doctor's office. Ana was surprised by how calm and soothing it felt. Dark tan walls and leather couches with throw cushions and several bookcases full of books lined the walls. There were high windows that let in natural light and it was the perfect place to discuss whatever was on your mind.

"Hello Ana, Mrs. Cavanaugh. Please sit anywhere." Dr. Flynn said standing as the ladies came in. They sat down on one of the leather couches. "Today, we will get to know each other. No 'shrinking' today." He said smiling at his own joke. He told them a little about himself and that he was originally from England but his wife was an American and missed her family so they moved to Washington State. They were expecting their first child.

Ana smiled at that news. Despite not being wanted by her birth mother, she loved children and looked forward to that time in her life in the future when she would welcome her own children into this world. She told Dr. Flynn that she was a sophomore in high school and she loved to read books. She said she had her own small library at their home and she wanted to study English Literature in college. Mrs. Cavanaugh just sat and listened quietly. She hadn't heard Ana talk this much to a stranger since she had known her.

The hour was up before they realized it and they stood up to leave. Dr. Flynn went to his own bookcase and got a book out and brought it back to Ana. "Ana, this will be your required reading this week." He said smiling down at the small brunette. "We will discuss it next time." She took the book and scanned the title and smiled. It was Anne of Green Gables.

"Thank you, Dr. Flynn. I will reread it and see if my views of it have changed since I first read it." She liked Dr. Flynn and was looking forward to talking to him again. He made her feel safe. She was still looking down at the book when she walked out the door into the lobby and right into someone. "Oh, excuse me." She said blushing. She did that often because she always seemed to have her nose in a book.

"No harm done." Said a beautiful young man with wild hair. "Have a nice day." He said smiling back at her. "I've seen you before." He said taking another look at her. "You are the girl who wrote the books about adoption. I saw your interview on the Today Show. My sister read them and gave them to me to read. She cried at the part where you were adopted by the Cavanaugh's." He smiled kindly at Ana and she was mesmerized by his beautiful face. She stared back, awe struck.

"What's your sister's name?" She asked, wanting to keep talking to him. "I could send her an autographed copy." He looked at her questioningly.

"You would do that?" He asked seriously. "Mia would love that. Her birthday is coming up." He takes a card out of his wallet and hands it to her. "Please call me and I will arrange a time to pick up the books." He said as he handed her his business card and walked away.

A/N: This will be a slow burn. It is a little more serious than what I usually write. I hope you like the first chapter. Please let me know if I should continue. Thanks for reading and reviewing.