First chapter :x Dedicated to my very supportive bestfriend
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L + U + C + I + D
I. HOW IT ENDED (in short-- THE AFTERMATH)
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"Take a risk, Piper." He said. "I'm not Duke Dove. Tell me how you feel—the truth. Either you love me or you don't. Dig deep I need to know."
She didn't have to dig deep. But saying out loud was impossible. Yet, if she didn't, wasn't she taking the coward's way out?
She was hard-core. Hanging tough was how she lives.
Excerpt from Bestselling New York Times Author, Susan Elizabeth Phillip's
First Star I See Tonight
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"Get the hell of our house you motherfucking faggot!" My brother shouted.
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It was the day of the before the graduation and many people were ecstatic because finally we were graduating. Its the happiest time of highschool students Everyone was taking pictures of their newly bought togas and posting them minute per minute in Instagram. Some are updating their Facebook statuses with hashstags like:
#finallyGrad
#fckYeahGraduation
#collegeHereiCome.
I'm so happy for them.
Fuck yeah---not.
The truth is, I'm envious of them.
While they are having the time of their lives, here I am--- homeless and unidentified even as a person who belong to any family for I was rejected by my own. Not my mom but by my brother. My beloved mother would definitely care and deeply worry when I'm gone. But, my brother had already created a plan: to let me sign a faux letter stating that I committed suicide in some faraway land because I couldn't deal with the world that was so cruel to people like me.
Cue laughter.
Pretty shitty, right? Let me give it a round of applause for a job well done.
And to seal the deal, my brother made me handwrite (forced) it all. Plus factor, he even cut my forefinger with his pocketknife and dropped some of my blood for dramatics.
He stuffed all of my clothes and other things in two huge duffel bags and threw them at me. The next thing he did was he threw a stash of cash which was kept inside a ziplock straight to my face. It threw off my balance so I landed directly on my butt.
"Ow..!" I seethed and bit back a curse as I rub my back which was still sore from the beating I got from my brother two days ago. I looked over the window and saw my brother give me a dark look and sneered.
"That serves you right, abomination!" He tsked then threw a spit on my shoe.
"Remember to make sure you use that wad of cash for survival and not to buy some fancy sex and sex toys to pleasure yourself." His words were like knives that cut so deep in my chest. I bowed my head to avoid look at my brother's eyes and nodded. My tears were threatening to fall from all the humiliation that I was getting but I firmly stopped it, afraid of being called particular derogatory names.
"Now off you go before you piss me off!" I placed the cash inside one of the duffel bags before carrying the two of them over my shoulders. I winced because my arms were aching a lot but who cares, I will just buy the painkillers later.
I simply walked away from our house and didn't even give a second glance.
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Finally, I was at the bus stop. I sighed in relief and plopped my butt into one of the seats.
I checked my phone to see if there were some notification and messages. I was touched that Tori, Mason and Aeron were blowing my inbox and messenger non-stop. I guess it was partly my fault to do so. After training camp, I didn't go to school anymore.
The ultimate answer is no other than my brother.
He beat me up real good. Ten out of ten, actually. He punched me by the use of glass between his knuckles. I didn't move or anything because I was simply numb to the pain. My tear ducts are already dried out and I incinerated all of for Eaton, my best bro.
Sighing, I returned myself back to reality. (it's a bitch) I checked again all of their messages. All of them were worrying and missing me. I couldn't help but tear up a little bit because of all the kindness they have shown to me.
That is why I'm ending it now.
I opened the back cover of my phone and carefully pulled the battery away. Then I removed both my sim and placed it on my lap. I reached for my bag and searched for my recently bought sim card.
Once I removed all the packaging, I inserted it inside my phone and placed back the battery then the phone cover once more. I grabbed both of the sims and crushed them inside my palm then I threw them in the trash bin. I rebooted back my phone and removed all of my social media account especially messenger.
Thankfully, the bus finally arrived. Once, I got in and took a seat, I leaned my head on the glass and contemplated. I asked myself:
Where should I go?
What do I do?
How can I live?
Where can I study (Can I even study?)?
Carrying this heavy load would surely cause the death of me but I'm sure that I can survive (probably). I shrugged at my answer then I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
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5 years later
Within two years, I was able to work my ass of a part-timer in three different establishments: A waiter in the morning in a family restaurant; Janitor in an Art School in the afternoon; the cashier guy at 7-Eleven in the evening. The first thing I bought with my paycheck (the restaurant owner where I work in the mornings grew fond of me so she added a couple more bucks in my paycheck) is a small nice cheap cozy apartment.
I almost forgot to tell you that Eaton Base, that bastard of a brother of mine, removed me from the family register the day before he finally kicked me out of the house. Guess what, he even used his connections to erase my identity as Jameson Baste, my original name. He said to me that I should be thanking him for he was merciful enough (his words not mine) to let me choose and write my new name in the blank birth certificate form he had on the palm of his hand.
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"Write your name now." I remember my brother told me while I was staring blankly at the blank birth certificate form.
He showed me a grin that flashed his perfectly lined pearly whites.
"Don't worry, I won't look at it." He added.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked, my voice obviously quivering. My question to his order turned his grin into a frown.
He shrugged, "The answer is quite simple. I want you gone from my life and because I hate your," he let out a gagging sound. "kind. And," his frown became a thin line and his brows creased. He glared at me then he slammed his clenched fists on the table. "I fucking hate your existence. all. my. fucking. life. That's all there is."
My tears fell as anger and hatred brewed inside my chest. I know for a fact that I was seeing red but I told myself to get a grip and get my shit together. All I can do was simply swallow my anger and pride at that time.
" Alright, then." I bit my bottom lip. " Let me write my new identity, Mr. Eaton Baste."
He chuckled and swiftly gripped my neck tightly as he spoke to me these words.
" Good. It's nice doing business with you, Jameson. Oh wait who the fuck are you again?" He laughed, "Nobody." Then he slammed my head on the table with no mercy. After finishing writing down every detail and information, he snatched it from my hands and inserted it inside a manila envelope.
I watched him kick the table in front of me which made me flinch before he walked off with the signed form inside the envelope dangling from his hands as his bodyguards following him behind like some loyalty-blinded hounds.
My heart clenched tightly as he walks away.
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I no longer go as Jameson Baste.
I am Julius Garne Y. Simoun.
I am a brand new person yet still a broken one.
Anyway, for now he is the least of my problems because right now finding a permanent job and an online college course are my current problems.