Chapter 45

**** Alyssa ****

As the plane makes to land on the small private runway in the jungle, I feel my nervousness spike. I don't know a lot about this grandfather of mine, and I've never been to South America before. I'd known, growing up, that my mother was Brazilian, and even though she shared some of her culture with me, this still all seem so foreign, yet at the same time, it feels oddly like home.

"You're quiet," Adrian commented with a small, amused smile.

We are driving down a road flanked by thick rainforests that I can't keep my eyes off; it is like the trees are calling to me.

"I'm just… I want to explore." That's true, but not the full extent of my current feelings.

"He's going to love you. He already loves you," Adrian answered my biggest fear without my having to express it. A surge of gratitude caused my smile to twitch.

"Thanks," I said, not quite sure what else to say and definitely not willing to admit how much those words affected me.

I know my parents loved me an