This is the second book in the 'Mate Or Not' Series. You can still read it even if you haven't read the first one.

The song for this chap is 'Numb' by Linkin park

The pic is of Kenzie (Main Female character) over there --------->
She's going to be played by Mandy Moore.

Vote, Comm, Enjoy :D

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I looked around my room for the last 18 years and sighed. This was it. I was leaving. Though I would have stayed forever if it meant my brother would still be alive.

Gabriel Tatum was without a doubt the best younger brother any girl could ask for. He was the only one I truly considered family. Gabriel was a premature baby, two months premature to be exact which caused major health problems for him.

He had Cerebral Palsy which paralyzed him from the waist down and even the smallest act of sitting up caused him to be out of breath due to the fact that his lungs weren't fully matured and he had a respirator attached to him at all times so he'd use it when needed, which was a lot.

Nevertheless, my brother was amazing; he was funny, charming, smart, and selfless. He was always there when I needed him and helped me a lot through my life. He was what my parentsshould have been. 

I shook my head and picked up my bags, Gabriel had died two days ago and it was expected. He lived to the age of fifteen, more than what the doctors predicted. And before he died he made sure I promised him to only take a day to cry, and be depressed but then I'd move on, he made me promise I'd do whatever it took to make myself happy. 

I walked down the stairs and instantly came face to face with my mom, Cindy. My mom was the picture of perfection; with blond hair, big blue eyes and perfect lips it was no wonder my dad fell in love with her. But her beauty never made up for the fact that she was never there, she never cared. 

"Where are you going?" She asked eying my bags suspiciously. “Away from you” I thought but didn't say aloud, like always.

"I'm leaving" I said with determination, my mom's eyes widened 

"What do you mean you're leaving? Where are you going?"

"I have no idea; I just have to leave this place"

"Is this because of your brother? His death was expected dear. We've been preparing for it ever since he was born"

I felt my blood boil.

"No mom. You were preparing for it. Dad was preparing for it. I was fighting against it"

And it was true; my parents never gave Gabriel the time of day. They brought everything he needed to the house. Hospital bed, respirators, heart monitor, and hired all the nurses he needed. But that was the only connection they had to my brother.

"Honey you're brother wouldn't have wanted you to--"

"Don't you dare" I said anger bubbling up inside of me. "Don't you dare preach to me about what Gabriel would have wanted, you didn't know him." I threw my bags down and they landed on the ground noisily  "You didn't know a thing about him! He was just an imperfection in your picture-perfect family that you wanted to hide." She started to answer but I interrupted her "You never talked to him, never spoke about him, and never even stopped by his room to check if he was alright. You never cared."

"Of course I cared" she said "he was my son"

"Was he really? Tell me mom what did he like to do while he was locked up in that room? What was his favorite show, favorite food, hobbies? What did he wish he could do if he wasn't sick?"

"I-I...”

"You don't know" I stated "You never knew. You blamed him for being sick; you blamed him for dad hating you. You blamed me for not shunning him like you all did, for not being perfect, for looking like my great-grandmother instead of looking like you and dad"

My mother gasped, it was the first time I had talked to her that way. But everything I said was true. Dad blamed mom for Gabriel's premature birth and for their second child, me, not being perfect. They stayed married but it was a well-known fact that dad cheated on her constantly. They wereboth the same, both pathetic excuses for parents. 

I took a deep breath, calming myself down, before I picked up my bags and walked to the door. "Tell Dad I said goodbye"

"If you get out that door you can kiss your inheritance goodbye" Mom said sternly and I smiled, she was finally showing who she really was. "You wouldn't get a dime from me or your father."

"I wouldn't expect anything less" I said without looking at her and got out of our mansion and put my bags in the trunk of the taxi I called for.

“Kenzie” I heard a familiar sweet voice call me. I turned around and saw my little sister, Grace, get out of the limousine that took her to school.

Grace was seventeen years old, a year younger than me. She was a perfect image of what Gabriel and I should have looked like. She had my mom's hair, mouth and skin and my dad's eyes and jaw.

She was perfect and my parents adored her, gave her everything she wanted and made sure she had the best of everything. But she wasn't like them, she was distant from Gabriel but she still stopped by his room and had small talk to him, she just found it awkward because they rarely found anything to talk about and she didn't know how to act around him because he was sick

"Hey Grace" I said smiling "I thought I wouldn't get to say goodbye" I hugged her and she hugged me back tightly. I wasn't really close to my sister, but we were always great with each other, she asked me for advice and I always tried to help but she was closer to my parents and a daddy's girl through and through. If you ask me she is the only reason my father never left my mom, other than the fact that by divorcing her people would start rumors and it would ruin his reputation.

"Why are you leaving?"

"Because I can't stay here anymore"

"But I'm going to miss you" She cried hugging me and I pulled back and wiped her tears "please don't leave me"

"I have to. And I'm going to miss you too but we'll stay in touch. You can call me anytime"

She nodded, wiping away her tears "This is because of Gabriel isn't it? I knew you only stayed because of him. You're the reason he lived as long as he did."

"No I'm not" I argued "It's the doctors that kept him alive"

"No it wasn't" she said "They expected him to live at least till he was five years old. But you took care of him from the moment mom and dad brought him home from the hospital. You fed him, washed him, stayed all day in his room as soon as you came back from school, and even spent most nights in his room and made sure the nurses were doing their best job"

"Believe me. I did nothing" I said, if all that stuff had helped him he would still be alive. "Call me okay?" My sister nodded and hugged me one more time "And good luck with mom and dad". Grace always had mom and dad's love and affection, unlike me. I never had the parents she did. "Bye"

We kept waving goodbye even after I got into the cab and drove off. It was only when she was out of sight did I finally sit straight in the cab. 

"Am I just going to keep driving around" the cab driver said. He looked at me through the rear view mirror and I shook my head

"Just a second" I told him pulling out my cell phone and calling the number of my best friend; Patrick Evans.

Patrick was two years older than me. He used to live near my house and went to school with me but as soon as he graduated high school he moved away and got an apartment and a job near his college but we remained in touch even with the long distance.

"Well if it isn't my favorite girl" Patrick's friendly voice came up after the second ring "How are you Kenz?"

"I don't know" I said. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I didn't have anyone to take care of, I didn't have a family, I didn't have anything "Gabriel died two days ago"

There was silence on the other end of the phone "I'm sorry Kenz"

"Its okay" I said forcing a smile "He didn't suffer, the doctor told us there was nothing we could do and we said our goodbyes." I stayed silent for a while before adding "I left home"

"You did?" Patrick's voice was shocked "Oh my god. How does it feel to be rid of Count Dracula and his wife?"

"I'll tell you when it registers in my head" I said "Remember when you said you could fix me an apartment? Can you still do that?"

"You can be my roommate you dummy" Patrick said "I'll sleep on the couch"

"No Patrick" I said "I want to build my life; I don't want to depend on anyone. I have enough money saved to get an apartment and I'll find a job to pay the rent."

Patrick sighed "I would argue with you but I know that wouldn't do anything"

I smirked "You know me too well"

"I can't guarantee that the apartment will be great since it's on such short notice but I'll do what I can. I'll talk to Dean and see if his old apartment is still up."

"Dean?"

"He's a mechanic here; his shop has improved here recently when he won this contest or something so he moved out of his old apartment and into a new one. When will you be here?"

"In a few hours"

"I better go apartment hunting then. Talk to you later Kenzie"

"Okay Pat. I'll call you when I get there"

"Okay" Patrick said and added at the last minute "Oh and Kenz?"

"What?"

"I'm proud of you" he said "It takes guts to do what you just did"

I stayed silent for a while and then smiled softly "You can thank Gabriel for that" I said "I'm just keeping a promise" ‘To be happy’ I thought ‘and happiness meant being away from my family.’ I hung up and told the driver where to go 'New Brooks' was the name of the town. I tried not to think that it's only a couple hours away from a certain town where I met the one who managed to make me want to lose control. 

The one, Chase Morgan, the most handsome and amazing guy I had ever met. A guy I had been trying to keep off of my mind for the past three years.
I shook my head; this wasn't the time to think about Chase, that door closed years ago. Plus he wouldn't recognize me now even if he saw me; I changed a lot in the last few years. I groaned internally and told myself to stop thinking about him. I was going to shove the thought of Chase away and start my new life.
‘I'm doing this for you Gabriel’ I thought as I looked out the window at the familiar town I was leaving, the family I was leaving. One that never ceased to remind me what a disappointment I was. I was going to have a new life, a new way of living, a new me.