I never imagined I'd be able to reach the age of fifteen with my father still living in our house. He's still working, but he doesn't have a regular job, and mom is still working as a maid at Leviticus' house because aunt Brianna didn't want to let her quit, maybe because of the fact that she had become her friend. Mom's pay was also increased, and we were given groceries every week. Because our family was so close to them, Mayor Arthur insisted that I continue to refer to him as 'uncle' rather than the formal one. After all of their help, I realized they were not as evil as others made them out to be.
I frequently stayed at Archer’s house after he recovered, and I think that my dad became terrified and scared of Archer's father, which was also the beginning of him not hurting me anymore. One Saturday afternoon, as I was heading to swim practice at school, my dad accompanied me. That day I had a
The next few days were difficult since Mom was hit by a car, which the driver claimed had lost its brakes. Mom's injuries that she got from the accidentwereterrible, especially on her two legs that had become stuck on the car wheels. Mom had been in the hospital for a month, and each day felt like a powerful storm slamming into my life, straining my patience to the limit.Due to extensive damage, Mom had to have one of her legs amputated, while her other leg remained paralyzed as a result of the trauma she had experienced. Since then, she has had to rely on a wheelchair. It kills me so much as a teen to see her suffer while adjusting to her new depressing life. Sometimes I caught her silently crying while simply staring at her legs, and that just crushed my heart. She once apologized to me since she could no longer work and provide me a good life because she is now handicapped. I can't take hea
I'm walkinghome with a great burden of guilt on my shoulders. It is true that it is difficult to pick what weighs more than the two things that are important to you when you are in a scenario where you must choose between them. When I blinked, my tears fell, leading me to pause and just stare at the moon in the starry sky, wondering if at least one day my life would change, that just once I would have a better life than this.When I heard a few footsteps approaching, I carefully turned in front of me. I was surprised for a moment while catching my breath as a combination of emotions erupted inside of me after recalling Kaye's troubles that we had talked about earlier, and the anger in my chest became heavier when I saw Archer’s face.He came to a stopjust a few steps away from me; we were near our house, and a few houses still had their lights
"Please deliver this to Joyous Delights bakery, son. You know, miss Jade, right? Give it to her; she already paid for it." I quickly nodded to Mom and grabbed themedium box of strawberries she was gesturing at on the table."OK, mom, I'll be back immediately." Mom smiled at me as she continued toplace the fruits in the cartons on the table that she was preparing for me to deliver to the houses that had placed orders with us.Because the sun was so bright, I wore a cap. It's a beautiful day for some, and there are many children playing in our neighborhood. Outside the house, our neighbors were chatting, but when they noticed me, they stopped and gazed at me with judging eyes. They constantly do it when they see my mom and me, until I grow used to it.I moved away from their stares and began walking. I kno
But I never thought Mom was right about all she said, because I never expected to see Sierra again after that day."These are our new orders, son. Make sureyou'll be able to deliver them right away." Mom noted. It's currently our school vacation, so I'm already dressed in my uniform for my job at a convenience shop. So now, I'm filling my free days by getting all the jobs I could get.I have three medium boxes to deliver, which are piled on the floor. It's only a few minutes till my afternoon shift, and if I deliver them one at a time, I'll be late."What is it, son?" When Mom noticed me baffling over the boxes, I instantly shook my head at her to answer her confusion. I knelt and began reading the names of the customers, but I paused when I came across the name of Jade in one of the boxes; it had been a week
Three days have passed since my last talk with Sierra—such a ridiculous and brave thing for me to say that we actually had a conversation when it was just us mocking each other and me slowly going into a momentary stupor because of her.When I pass by their bakery, I often see her busy serving their customers; she never noticed me stealing a glance inside. I'm not sure what happened in my head, but I immediately got interested in that woman — not because I likeher, but rather because I felt a connection with her. I'm at a loss for words on how to explainwhat kind of 'connection' I was conveying. Maybe she just made such a strong first impression tome that she flipped me hard that I want to grab her attention now. I've never felt this way about any other girls, and it's the first time I've ever felt this way about a girl."Bro, stro
I never expected our meeting to be followed by another, and every time I deliver fruits to them, she now smiles and greets me. She also pays me visits on occasion when I work the night shift at a store. Sierra and I became close friends, and despite the fact that she frequently only delivered me sarcasm, I still enjoy her company.I recall asking her why she wanted me to be her friend because that didn't seem to be in Sierra McCarthy's mentality, but she just raised her shoulders and replied, 'why not, I'm bored.' Maybe it's Sierra's sarcasm and her ability to be unbothered by everything that I admire about her. And she is also quite unpredictable; one minute I believe I know her, but the next she blows my mind since she shows lots of new things to me every time."You know, you're like a cross between a good boy and a bad boy?" She said that out of nowhere. Whe
I never expected our meeting to be followed by another, and every time I deliver fruits to them, she now smiles and greets me. She also pays me visits on occasion when I work the night shift at a store. Sierra and I became close friends, and despite the fact that she frequently only delivered me sarcasm, I still enjoy her company. I recall asking her why she wanted me to be her friend because that didn't seem to be in Sierra McCarthy's mentality, but she just raised her shoulders and replied, 'why not, I'm bored.' Maybe it's Sierra's sarcasm and her ability to be unbothered by everything that I admire about her. And she is also quite unpredictable; one minute I believe I know her, but the next she blows my mind since she shows lots of new things to me every time. "Stop smoking. It'll slowly destroy your lungs, and if you keep doing it, you might not live unti
Time flies so fast. Sierra and I rarely met—I mean, she was the only one who always found a way to meet me as often as possible, since wherever I worked, she would visit me and remain for a few minutes simply to blab tons of nonsensical stories. She always says that she's bored at their house and that listening to their customers' requests exhausts her so much, and she also told me how upset she is with "Robert," her aunt Jade's suitor, and when she mentioned him, that's when I realized that Robert is the man I saw with Jade at church the last time. Sierra revealed that Robert is already married and has children, and her aunt Jade is aware of it but still allows Robert to pursue her. Sierra's aunt, Jade explained to her that Robert and his wife had broken up more than a year ago and that there's nothing she should worry about, but Sierra was still upset
"Where are we going?!" When the light from the lamp post crossed his eyes, I noticed how dark and horrible they were. I attempted to yank Archer's hand away from me, but he became quite violent."You fucking lied to me! And if you can't love me back, I'm going to get rid of you instead " There was no other man, no stalker, and a man with a face mask. It was just Archer and me. But before that happened, I called Emmy to the Meadowoods Library before Archer ever got close to me. When I asked for help for the third time, I told her that I would go with her since there's someone who's threatening to kill me. Of course, she was concerned.I had the entire plan written down before Archer did. But it was never my intent to drag Amalia under her grave."Calm down, Archer; we can talk this through." He was practically twisting my hands and tried to shove me inside his car while I was in pain. But I needed to buy some time because Amalia hadn't arrived yet."Why should we talk
Everyone in Camden Town knows practically everyone else, including the famous Mayor and his family. As I already stated, I did a great deal of reading and pondering before heading to that location. As a person who grew up in a bizarre and aberrant environment, everything must have a reason, or else your existence will be meaningless. My intention to kill myself was pure when I drowned myself, but after I was awakened, I gradually wanted to restart my life because of Jade and Everson, but my flesh was telling me that living a simple life was never for me. I knew Everson was friends with Archer; while I was going around Camden, I would see them together, and there was a whisper in my ear instructing me to do what I wanted to do. And it was to get close to Archer Leviticus. When I thought about him, I told myself that I needed to see a psychiatrist again since everything about me isn't normal anymore. I want to be good, but I also want to be bad. I started hatin
"Thank God, you're awake!" Jade pulled me back to life when I thought I had sunk to numbness. It was a terrible heartache, and I felt like Jade smashed my dream. I was already so close to dying. I was so enraged by her but something unusual happened to me that day when I witnessed a single tear fall from Jade's eyes. It was as if something struck my heart; it was the first time in years that I thought someone truly cared about me. And the fact that she was a complete stranger made me appreciate her even more. Someone risked her life to save a piece of garbage like me while I was alone in the vastness of the water. That day, I couldn't decide whether to be glad that He had kept me alive or angry because I knew that once I was living, something awful would happen in my life again. But now I already know the answer. Being alive is cruel to me. I didn't deserve to have a second life. It took me a week to finally respond to Jade becau
"She left us." I placed my hand on Amalia's shoulder to stop her from walking. "Let's just face it." I told her once again, and when Amalia eventually stopped, I closed my eyes in relief. She turned to face me, her eyes and entire face scarlet from crying. She knelt on her knees and cried even more, panting for breath. "Let's just say she's in good hands now—" "You can't rest assured! Allison, she's just thirteen!" She yelled at me. I looked around and noticed others stopping to stare in astonishment at us. I knelt down, took her hand, and pulled her up, but she quickly swayed my hands away from her. "How can you be so calm? Our sister has gone missing!" She yelled at me again, looking at me in utter disbelief. It had been a year; one day we woke up, Luisa was gone. I knew it would happen soon because Luisa kept talking about asking for help and what may have occurred to us only if we had gone with our sisters. So, I had the feeling th
"I fucking despise myself!" Amalia sobbed and smacked her head. I took a nervous breath and bit my bottom lip before taking Amalia's hand in mine and embraced her. She sobbed, burying her head in my arms to avoid looking at our sisters, who were being taken by the cops. While Luisa was sitting on the ground hugging her knees avoiding looking at our sisters. I watched them from a distance, hiding behind trees, as they were perplexed and puzzled of what was happening, their eyes wandering around, attempting to find us everywhere while they sobbed. We didn't have a choice but to leave them or turn them over; we didn't have the money to feed them any longer, and we all knew that keeping our younger sisters in our care wouldn't get us anywhere. The proprietor of the previous motel we were in was starting to get suspicious of us, first, we were just a bunch of kids, and he was perplexed as to why we only stayed in a room with one bedroom, and he probably also
Carrie was right the entire time because as I grew older, I learned that mama was more than just the mother figure we all want. She wasn't ordinary; she was above and beyond everyone else. She was observant and had finesse, and she knew how to bend straight lines without getting caught. She knew everything about evil, and she also taught me everything. Like Allison, I took Carrie's advice to gain Mama's trust. It wasn't easy, as she had warned me. I didn't know where to begin since whenever I approached Mama, all I could feel was nervousness, and she was always mad and strict with me. Facing her was like facing Satan himself. And what's worse was I had forgotten that I had once been Allison, and I had simply forgotten how to be like her. Allison, as I recall, was a crybaby who was always afraid but yet did things she was afraid of anyhow. But, as time went by, I grew accustomed to lying and became a professional, just like my mother. I felt like I had inherit
"Why are you crying? You should be happy that mama didn't punish you," Carrie said as she rubbed Allison's shoulder, prompting Allison to glance up at her sister. Carrie was eighteen years old and could live on her own, but their "mama" would never allow her or any of them. Allison sniffed and brushed her tears away, but they still wouldn't stop falling. Her eyes suddenly fell on Carrie's bruises on her bare arms and legs; she had received them just weeks ago when she attempted to flee and seek help from authorities. She was their mama's most trusted child, not just because she was the oldest, but also because she was the best at lying, but now she was just another piece of trash that their mama hid under the basement. "I simply didn't like what I did to Nathalia and her mother," Allison said as she shook her head and sobbed again. Their mother always told them not to cry because it only makes people weak, but Allison was only seven years old and couldn't kee
"Mama, I think what we're doing is wrong." Allison muttered as she looked at her mother, who was putting on her earrings while checking herself in the mirror. Allison's heartbeat raced faster as her mother stopped what she was doin; she already knew her mother was going to chastise her, one of her mother's dislikes are them talking back at her or being against or questioning her actions. She embraced the doll that Nathalia gave her, because she finds comfort in it whenever she is afraid, which she is all the time. Dahlia's mother was dressed in a black long-sleeved dress, scarlet stilettos, and her hair was carefully done into a bun. Her lips were as red as blood, and she was really going for a stunning look since she was going out to dinner with Grace's wealthy friends. Dahlia would never say no to Grace's invitation to an expensive dinner. Dahlia has been acting as Grace's friend for two weeks now. She couldn't help but giggle inside her head at
"Oh my god, thank you so much! This is the finest gift I have ever received in my life! I really love it!" Exclaimed Dahlia, Susie's mother, as she gazed at the embroidered hoop of flowers Grace had made for her. "Oh my! My ears would be clapping," Grace sheepishly said as she shook hands in front of Dahlia, but on the inside, she was ecstatic that Dahlia liked it. "No, honestly, you are really wonderful at this," Dahlia said as she set the embroidery hoop on a vacant chair to her right. "Thank you so much; I learned to embroider from my mother," Grace said, looking at her mother beside her. Grace's mother, Merriam, teased her, saying, "Grace loves delivering her embroideries to her new neighbors, and you would probably know what she would give you when holiday comes. On top of that, she would really spend her day only doing this, no doubt since our house is extremely filled with her works." They all laughed. "Oh, come on!"