Demario's POV

After a morning of final check-ups, I was finally back home with my foster family and was immediately told to get some rest. And I was grateful for it because that morning-after revelation with me and Oliver waking up with Ryan was something that I was not going to want to remember for a very long time. For all I could care, I wanted to erase that event from my mind and move on with life.

But with Theo Blake and Jillian Kendricks being on everyone's blacklist and the former teen now hopped on revenge and ready to do whatever it takes to get me out of the picture; you can pretty much guess that my life was definitely one soap-opera storybook- and not in a good way.

And it was getting old real quick since my failed suicide attempt was something that I wanted to break away from after a life of apathetic and emotional abuse from my now-dead parents and their precious golden children as my relatives gave me the boot.

I wish for thunder and lightning to kill you.

I wish for thunder and lightning to kill you.

And yet, I'm still standing and defying the odds. Go figure.

Anyway, I was now coming out from an afternoon nap and a hot shower to wash the cobwebs out of my mind and off my body before planning to head downstairs and get in a nice movie. But just as I was finishing up getting dressed in some sweatpants, I heard the doorbell ring before some interwoven conversation. "Demario?" Taylor's voice boomed from downstairs. "Come downstairs, please. You have some company."

"Coming," I hollered before slipping on a gray t-shirt and my flip-flops before leaving my bedroom and making my way down to the den.  I headed to the living room where I was greeted by both foster dads and two young Black women with tired stares yet wistful smiles. "Hello," I said uneasily to the young women before taking my seat. "Can I help you."

One of them, tall and athletic with dark-chocolate-brown skin, spoke first. "I'm Tiana Watkins," she introduced herself before gesturing to her more-curvy companion. "This is my cousin Tre'Cee Barker. And we heard about your near-death at that party. We would've come earlier when we heard about your suicide attempt and all, but we were out of town. Still, it's nice to know that you came out a survivor and all."

The other young woman named Tre'Cee nodded, her braided ponytail bouncing. "It made my heart stop when I heard about that," she piped up with a sharper Southern twang. "Demarcus and DeSean's kinfolks were dead wrong to treat you like that after they and their families got killed. Serves your brothers right for what they did to you."

I nodded. "You're here to talk about my relationship with my family and why you think that my parents, sisters, and brothers got what they deserved," I deduced.

"Yup," Tiana replied, her mouth popping on the "p." "Child, I don't know why a kid of you caliber had to deal with people like that for most of your life. Tre'Cee and I knew that we'd made the biggest mistake in dating your brothers' behinds if we'd known that they treated you like shit for almost all of your life. Our parents told us to leave them as soon as we saw Demarcus and DeSean use and abuse you like some football-training dummy. The day that we did one month before they bit the dust was when we did just that..."

FLASHBACK (One month before the tragedy)...

I was my bedroom pouring my mental energy into Demarcus' penultimate English essay while he and DeSean were in the living room with their lady friends as they were arguing on the latest subject: me. "Demarcus, I don't see why you and DeSean  gotta treat your brother like he's some live-in slave," I heard one of the ladies say, loud enough for me to hear while I ignored them. "You two and your family are the reason why we're breaking up in the first place."

"Come on, Tiana," I heard Demarcus say in exasperation. "He's nothing more than what Mama and Daddy believe that he is- unwanted waste of space. Everyone in our family knows it."

"But he does almost everything for y'all behinds," the other girl shot back. "He cooks, cleans, does y'all's homework, and anything else that your skeezin' momma demands him to do while y'all laze around like you run the world. And what does he get? Threats of being killed, y'all wishing he'd off himself, and your ingratitude all day, every day. If it weren't for your landlord and his folks taking time out to take care of him any way that they can, he might not have survived this long."

"And that's something that still amazes me every day," the first girl says. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that your brother would be thinking about the day that y'all will bite the dust and be planning to give you all the proper send-off that you deserved: in the trash can."

I heard DeSean snort. "Like that'll happen," he retorted. "He's too much of a mousy-ass punk to even think about killing me, my brother, and our family, let alone wishing us dead when we wish that something would happen to him. He knows that we'll always hate him for being who he is."

"And that is?" the second girl said.

"Simple. He's nothing more than a bastard- a weak-ass, punk-ass, skinny, little bastard that Mama and Daddy should've aborted a long time ago."

I heard the resounding double slap. "That's it, we out," the second girl bellowed. "Y'all boys are nothing but pure swine for treating that kid like junk for all his life. Y'all better hope y'all stay healthy or don't need no transplant because I wouldn't be surprised if y'all needed one and he'll say no just to spite y'all. Tre'Cee and I want nothing to do with you two ever again."

There were loud footsteps before the apartment door slammed.

I just ignored it all and focused on the homework, knowing that nothing would ever change since people would say that they care but wouldn't be able to anything about it. Not if Vivian Emmeline Ingram-Bader would help it...

"We have no regrets with dumping their sorry asses that day and we still believe that they got their just rewards," Tiana said. "And when we learned that your mama left you to fend for yourself and wanted you out of your home in seven days before you tried to kill yourself, Tre'Cee and I knew that we had to see you. We never bothered to show up at the funeral because they gave you nothing but contempt. So we showed your relatives that we leave them with nothing but our contempt."

Tre'Cee gave me a soft look. "Kid, you're a saint for dealing with all of this," she stated. "If you were my brother, I'd make sure that you would go places with your musical talents and all that. Hell, even my parents alongside Tiana's think that you should've been born in our family. What I wanna know is how you were able to stay strong up until that day?"

I took a deep breath. "I guess it was me clinging on some false hope that things would start changing for the better," I replied. "I just thought that my parents would be decent enough to at least make sure that I was taken care of when they and my siblings would die before me. Guess I was wrong when Mom left me with nothing and decided that I would be better off living in the streets. I didn't want to consider going into the gang-banging business or even selling my body for a few bucks. So I thought that if I took myself out of the equation..."

"Then you'd be at peace," Tiana finished. "Damn, kid. You had it rough back then. But at least you're coming out stronger now. And these folks who took you in are doing what your parents should've done. Don't let the ghosts from your past steal your joy, Demario. You came this far. Prove your ex-relatives and your late folks wrong. That's all we ask."

"Thank you," I said, getting up to give both ladies a hug. "Things are getting topsy-turvy at the moment, but I'm holding on."

"That's all we ask," Tre'Cee commented. "But before Tiana and I go, we need to tell you something about this Theo Blake kid, the one who put that date rape drug in that punch the other night. It was originally owned by Demarcus, who intended to use it on you if they hadn't got killed. And they were instructed by your late mama to drug you and have you sold into some sex-trafficking ring."

My eyes went wide at that. Mom really hated me enough to have me sedated and sold to some prostitution ring? Wait until Dr. Nguyen hears about this.

I bet y'all want to know what revelations will be made regarding Demario's birth family and why they hated him with an undying passion. Well, let's just say that it has something to do with his parents...and a nasty separation period that will explain everything. That comes later in act three.

But coming up next, Demario and Ryan are tasked by Ms. McNeese to spend time together (no Oliver or any buffers between them this time) as Ryan's not giving up on his pursuit for Demario's heart. Ooh, child! The drama is going to be on and poppin'!

Dedication: RamsiC7 (new follower).

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