"I don't give a fuck" I shouted back before Ace's fist collided with my face. To be fair, I probably deserved that one. I stumbled to the ground, blinking a couple of times. It caught me off guard, but he did warn me. I stood up and wiped the blood from my lip before throwing a punch. He caught my arm and tucked it behind my back. I groaned in pain as he pushed me against the wall. "Fucking stop. I'll kill you Ice" He hissed, almost as a warning.
When my mother departed, I was nine years old.
One of my earliest memories is being at home and pleading with my younger brother to stop sobbing. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the fridge for him to eat. We were hopeless, young, and stupid enough to believe that she would eventually return. There was never a time when she did.
It took me approximately four days to make up my mind to do something about it. I got my younger brother, who was seven at the time, ready and off to school we went. I went to the only school I knew how to go to, so I guess that's why I picked it.
Avery stated, "Alex, I'm very hungry," while gripping his stomach and seeming uncomfortable.
I assured him, "I'll get you food now, just give me a few minutes" as I dragged him by the hand down the road.
We ask, "Are we going to die, Alex?" Avery inquired, worriedly.
The honest truth is that I had no idea. When I was nine, I was worried about what would happen to my brother and me. Perhaps I even feared for our lives. A child's imagination may be both terrifying and enchanting.
We'll be fine, I murmured under my breath, annoyed by his barrage of inquiries.
After Avery began, "But what about-" I cut him off.
"Would you guys please be quiet?" I pleaded, exhausted, hungry, and irritated. I saw the tears start to fill up in his eyes as he dropped his head in defeat.
After patting his head and saying, "I'm sorry Avery, we're almost there ok," I tried to soothe him. I took it as a consoling gesture at the time. Avery's stomach was growling, and he continued to cry out in anguish.
When I saw a convenience store along our route, I dreaded the inevitable but knew I had no choice. While Avery distracted the shopkeeper, I stuffed as many candies as I could into my pockets. The shop's proprietor came back in and gave me the once-over. I pretended like I was searching for something and it worked.
Greeting: "Can I be of assistance?" Already suspicious, he inquired. He saw that I was malnourished from my thinness, my dirtiness, and my youth.
A fast "No, I'm okay" was my hasty response as I tried to cover up my guilt, but I failed. Unless my bulging pockets gave it away, the guy could tell I was stealing.
He groaned, grabbed me by the neck, and threw me out of the store, saying, "You little shit." After striking my head and falling to the ground, I was dazed and confused for a while. My head hurt so badly that I started to cry. I held back my tears because I needed to be a role model of strength for Avery. Avery was standing there, looking concerned. Tears were already streaming down his cheeks. He had a kind disposition.
With a sneer, he told the kids, "Keep the candy you little thieves" and then retreated inside his store. I put my hands on the floor and dragged my sluggish self up. Avery, shocked at the wound on my temple, covered his lips. The scrapes and scratches on my knees didn't hurt quite as much. When I was younger, climbing trees was my favorite activity, so the occasional scratch or bruise wasn't a big deal.
As I cradled Avery in my arms, I said, "I'm okay."
Often heard: "Why are people so mean?" Tears were falling from his eyes as he asked.
The words "I'll never let anyone be mean to you, not like that" left my mouth. Even when I was very small, he was the only thing on my mind.
Avery was becoming hungry, so we sat on a low wall while we waited for me to return with some food. When I reached beneath my shirt and produced a bottle of water, I saw a smile spread over his face. He snatched it from my hands and opened it at once, drinking from it in great gulps. I took out some cookies as he did that. When my mother performed these kinds of things for me, I always felt better.
For the first time in days, Avery and I sat contentedly on a little wall, with our feet still dangling over the floor, munching on cookies and sipping water.
I couldn't compare to Avery. His hair was black, not white, and his eyes were emerald. My hair and eyes were white and blue. Even though I suspect his biological father was different from mine, I always simply considered him my younger sibling.
I said, "Okay, time to go," and he returned my grin with one of his own. It took us around 10 minutes to cover the distance to our school on foot.
Asking, "Why are we going to Ms.Jane?" Avery, trailing after me in bewilderment, asked. His feet obviously pained, as did mine.
I'm stumped. There is no one else we can turn to. My voice was soft as I let the truth sink in. When I was nine years old, I had to accept the fact that my sole family member besides my brother didn't care about me.
With a mournful "Oh," his demeanor changed.
We walked some further, but eventually arrived at our school. There was no way for me to tell whether it was still school hours or not. The massive gates we were approaching were locked as we got closer.
To ask, "Do you know what day it is today?" I gave him a puzzled look and inquired. In a firm nay, Avery shook his head. Someone was passing the school, so I dashed over to greet them.
"I'm sorry, but can you tell me what day it is?" I replied timidly, although I was aware that keeping track of time was essential.
It's Sunday night, honey, and you need to hurry home before it's too late. Where has your brain gone? When she received no reaction to her soothing tone and kind smile, the lady walked away.
I cast an anxious look at the ground. I was on the verge of crying my eyes out. We had come all this way just to be told to come back tomorrow. It was too risky for Avery to walk home in the dark, and it would take over an hour. In addition, he has a severe phobia of the dark. I was at a loss for action and direction. We needed a somewhere to sleep, but all I could do was wait here until the following day, when classes began.
One of the raindrops struck the back of my neck, causing me to snap out of my reverie. As I looked up, I saw that black clouds were gradually covering the sky. As they came closer, I could see Avery was becoming nervous. The raindrops gradually accelerated their rate of descent.
Then, a thought occurred to me. At school, my buddies and I constructed a stronghold to protect ourselves from tyrants. It was deep in the woods. We needed to pass past these gates before we could find a place to sleep.
As I made my way around the campus, I called out to Avery, "Come on!" One of my buddies used to use this route to go in and out of school undetected.
I told him to "climb under here," but he didn't move.
He said, "Alex, it looks dangerous" as tears welled in his eyes.
I pleaded, "Oh come on, don't cry, I'm here, and you'll be alright," hoping without hope that he would hear me and believe me. I had run out of choices. As I squeezed through the fence, Avery wriggled through it. The chasm was narrowing as I passed across it.
I went beyond our school, where there were a forest of trees. No matter how much pressure there is to chop them down for "clean" environmental reasons, they refuse to do so. I wasn't complaining because I believed we were having a better time than they were.
When it rained, my buddy and I could sit in the base under a tarp he had brought from home.
So that Avery could go under it, I grabbed the edge of the blue tarp and yanked it up. When Avery spotted all of our comics scattered over the floor, he let out a loud squeal of delight.
That's awesome! As he looked around, he chuckled.
For this outpost, we scrounged stolen bedding, playthings, and pillows. I took a flashlight from the principal's office, although he seldom used it anyhow, so it was plenty for our needs. For what seemed like hours, Avery and I sat and read comics. As the night closed in on us, Avery's anxiety levels rose. When I turned on the light, he was grinning from ear to ear. While reading, we shared a single blanket.
His eyes widened as he stared at the comic book in disbelief.
I stared at Avery, who was engrossed in the narrative, and nodded, "Yeah, they killed the good guy." He leaned his head on my shoulder after some time. I was about to brush him off when I saw that Avery was sound sleeping. I gave a satisfied nod, relieved that one of us would be able to catch some shut-eye.
"Baby, always wear your face mask, is that okay?" I talked to my six-year-old son. "Okay, Mom!" He answered enthusiastically while looking at the high gate of the house where we were standing. "Are you going to work here?" He asked. I nodded and squeezed her cute hand. I hope we won't be evicted if I can work here. I also hope my son won't steal chocolates at night, my old boss mistook me for a ghost so I was fired! I couldn't help but laugh, my mother and I have been through so much and my son is strangely gaining weight and not losing weight. "Come in now." The guard caught my attention. I nodded and walked in with Alexandria. The butler of the mansion greeted us and escorted us to the maid's quarters, they were so happy with my daughter that you would think she would be working with them. But even so, I'm thankful because it seems like it's really okay that I work with him even though it's very unprofessional. Judy and Roxan didn't hold Alexander until he went to sleep, so it's bad if they scolded him until he was left to sleep.
He smiled then took my hand and put the book in there. I quickly took the book and walked out. I might punch him in no time. Fuck you my first kiss is gone. That's a damn president. She really is ready for me.
We just followed him with our eyes. Not far from the abandoned university, Ellice's car was parked and we were hanging out. It only takes a few steps to reach the gate, so we see Ella's every move as she slowly opens the gate. "Girls, it's open. Come on, let's take a look inside" Ella yelled at us. We got out of the car one by one and went to see Ella. When we arrived at the gate we found that it was indeed open. After all, no one is surprised by an abandoned person. "What are we going to do? Don't tell me we're going in there?" Mitch asked cleverly. He just followed us and kept his hand on his mosquito-bitten leg. "Let's go inside. Let's find a place to sleep. We can't just spend the night in the car," I told them. Maybe some bad person passed by where we parked the car, and we might be tripped up, we're still girls. We have nothing against you. "France is right. We have to get inside to find a place to rest" Ellice agreed with what I was saying and went inside first. "But guys-"
I was just walking around the premises of my new school. Our class just ended and the teachers announced that it was 'club hours' and that we could join the club we wanted. The case... I don't want anything. There is nothing like that for me. I can't go to the sports club because I have asthma. I will drown if I join the Swimming Club because I can't even do a simple dog swim. It's also not possible in Math or Science Club because my brain will definitely explode there. I can't do Cheerdance because I don't know how to dance and my bones will break because of the hardness of my body. I'm not an artist by blood and I'm not a book lover. I then thought of hanging myself from a tree. I have no talent. I'm having a hard time choosing a club. So I just chose to walk around. I'm also new to this school. I was educated when my uncle was abroad so I was able to move to the classy St. Mikhailov's Academy. As I walked I reached the part of Nevada's Square that was quite wooded. There are many trees and big ones. I sat down in the shade and rested while looking around. Then suddenly....
As I was walking along the road, I noticed someone looking at me. So I looked around but I couldn't see him. So I just told myself that it was just my imagination. I just walked because I was in a hurry to get to the Jeep Terminal. But I stopped walking because someone suddenly grabbed my arm. So I got nervous and I suddenly looked at him. I can't see his face because he's wearing a mask. I wanted to talk to him but he turned me away and put a handkerchief over my mouth. I struggled but I couldn't because he was too strong. So with so much struggle and dizziness, I lost consciousness.
There are things in this world that we cannot see clearly. Sometimes they are just people's imaginations and you may only read about them in books. Hiding because they know people will not understand them when they see them. Evil but sometimes does inexplicable good. Things that... Things? They don't really matter, what am I saying?
Yelena discovered that she wasn't her parents' biological child. After seeing through their ploy to trade her as a pawn in a business deal, she was sent away to her barren birthplace. There, she stumbled upon her true origins—a lineage of historic opulence. Her real family showered her with love and adoration. In the face of her so-called sister's envy, Yelena conquered every adversity and took her revenge, all while showcasing her talents. She soon caught the attention of the city's most eligible bachelor. He cornered Yelena and pinned her against the wall. “It's time to reveal your true identity, darling.”
Darya spent three years loving Micah, worshipping the ground he walked on. Until his neglect and his family's abuse finally woke her up to the ugly truth-he doesn't love her. Never did, never will. To her, he is a hero, her knight in shining armour. To him, she is an opportunist, a gold digger who schemed her way into his life. Darya accepts the harsh reality, gathers the shattered pieces of her dignity, divorces him, takes back her real name, reclaims her title as the country's youngest billionaire heiress. Their paths cross again at a party. Micah watches his ex-wife sing like an angel, tear up the dance floor, then thwart a lecher with a roundhouse kick. He realises, belatedly, that she's exactly the kind of woman he'd want to marry, if only he had taken the trouble to get to know her. Micah acts promptly to win her back, but discovers she's now surrounded by eligible bachelors: high-powered CEO, genius biochemist, award-winning singer, reformed playboy. Worse, she makes it pretty clear that she's done with him. Micah gears up for an uphill battle. He must prove to her he's still worthy of her love before she falls for someone else. And time is running out.
On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."
Janice, the long-forgotten legitimate heiress, made her way back to her family, pouring her heart into winning their hearts. Yet, she had to relinquish her very identity, her academic credentials, and her creative works to her foster sister. In return for her sacrifices, she found no warmth, only deeper neglect. Resolute, Janice vowed to cut off all emotional bonds. Transformed, she now stood as a master of martial arts, adept in eight languages, an esteemed medical expert, and a celebrated designer. With newfound resolve, she declared, "From this day forward, no one in this family shall cross me."
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."
When Zora was sick during the early days of her pregnancy, Ezrah was with his first love, Piper. When Zora got into an accident and called Ezrah, he said he was busy, when in actual fact, he was buying shoes for Piper. Zora lost her baby because of the accident, and throughout her stay at the hospital, Ezrah never showed up. She already knew that he didn't love her, but that was the last straw for the camel's back, and her fragile heart could not take it anymore. When Ezrah arrived home a few days after Zora was discharged from the hospital, he no longer met the woman who always greeted him with a smile and cared for him. Zora stood at the top of the stairs and yelled with a cold expression, "Good news, Ezrah! Our baby died in a car accident. There is nothing between us anymore, so let's get a divorce." The man who claimed not to have any feelings for Zora, being cold and distant towards her, and having asked her for a divorce twice, instantly panicked.