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Author's Note ||

This is my first time writing here so i'd love any feedback or suggestions on how to make my work better. :) This is a repost of my original first ever story on Wattpad so please enjoy!!

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Growin' up wasn't one of my favorite things in life. Ma and Pa were about the only things that made it fun besides Dante. Dante was my older brother and the very essence of a man. He took what he wanted from who he wanted when he wanted to and wouldn't care in the slightest, hell, he'd even spit in your face if he hated you 'nuff. Whenever he was around, no one could touch me. He made sure nothin' harmed lil ol' me, 'specially the bullies down by the creek. Bullies were a big part of my life growin' up since I was an easy target. They would start teasin' me as soon as I got in the school on a daily basis to the point where I'd bolt out the classroom in tears during roll call or lunchtime. I was a cry baby, which didn't help make my whole bullying situation any better. I couldn't really defend myself too much for a buncha' reasons. I was very small for a boy my age and my body was more than feminine lookin'. I had brown, coarse hair that I always kept at chin length and only got trimmed occasionally. I would wear my overalls with little cuffs in the bottom like the girls at my school, not because I wanted to look girly, but because I thought it looked nice. My face was pretty, as in I looked more like a 'she' than a 'he'. The girls would come up to me at lunch everyday and offer me a seat a their table just so they can doll me up with lip gloss and eyeliner along with a couple of hair bows and fake freckles that would later get washed off by havin' my head shoved in the toilet for my afternoon swirly. I had tiny hands with slender, feminine fingers that were smaller than most girls at my school along with a pair of big, green, captivating eyes that Ma said could cast a spell on you if you stared into 'em for too long. My voice was girly too with a very high pitch that made my strong, stereotypical country accent all the more annoying to listen to. My homeroom teacher, Mrs. Rhydon, constantly begged me to join the choir at our school, claiming I could sing and hit high notes better than any girl they had in the group. I went to the rehearsal that I was invited to by Mrs. Rhydon and some of the choir girls I'd sit with at lunch. I was nervous, but I felt happy to be able to join in on somethin' for once. Needless to say, I was amazin'.

"A natural born talent" the choir teacher called me. I quickly became a very big part of rehearsals, taking many other girls spots due to the fact that my voice could cover almost two to three pitches alone. The other girls didn't take too fondly to this and the next thing I knew, I was eatin' my lunch behind the garbage can instead of at their table with them. A week later, I quit choir and never looked back.

The principal would always call Ma and tell 'em that I was becomin' an issue for the school and that I should maybe get a counselor or somethin'. On my parents hunt for a counselor, the doctor told 'em I was special and had somethin' called ADHD.

He said that's why I have such a hard time sittin' still and why I have a hard time focusin' on one thing at a time without gettin' distracted. On top of that, I was a chatterbox and loved to talk to people. Whenever a new kid came to our school I'd March right up to 'em, extend my hand out for a firm handshake like Pa had taught me, and introduce myself so loud the teacher would jump in her seat. "Names Reggin, Nice tah meet ya!" I'd announce with a goofy grin and 'nuff pride to give the president a run for his money. Usually, those encounters would end In someone throwin' somethin' at my head to knock me down, the whole class just burstin' out into a fit of giggles and snorts, or both before the person I was tryin' to 'make a good first impression on' as Pa called it, would call me weird and walk off or raise their hand and tell the teacher I'm bothering 'em.

I talked funny to say the least. I'm originally from some island in the ocean called Hawaii, at least that's what Ma and Pa told me. They said they adopted me before I had even taken my first step or said my first word. Apparently, they had turned to adoption since Ma had trouble makin' healthy babies. Dante and I were both adopted, but I was the most different lookin'. Besides the other things I mentioned about my appearance, my skin looked nothin' like Ma, Pa, or even Dante's. They all had snow white skin, almost sickly lookin' with Ma and Pa havin' brown hair and Dante havin' a more sandy, dirty color. My skin was brown, like the caramel inside the Twix candies. Ma always called me a 'golden boy' because my skin was like bronze and had this beautiful glaze to it when I was sweaty or wet that contrasted great with my pretty chocolate brown hair. Ma and Pa didn't care about my skin color though, or anyone's skin color for that matter. They'd like you if you were brown, white, or purple as long as you had a big nuff' heart.

I wasn't a big fighter or anythin' like Pa and Dante. I hated blood and whenever I saw it, I'd freak out and start cryin'. If I saw 'nuff of it, I'd throw up right there on the spot. The way we found this out Is when some kid threw a rock at me in the hallway that he brung from outside because I was bein' 'too stupid'. It bust the left side of my forehead wide open and knocked me out cold. When I came to, Ma and Pa were standing over me with the principle and the nurse. The nurse was touchin' my head while Ma was cryin' to Pa about how she was goin' to sue the school. I felt somethin' warm tricklin' down the side of my face so I went to wipe it off against the nurse's wishes. When i pulled my hand back down, i saw red liquid all over it. I'd never seen blood before and the sight of it made my stomach turn upside down and do a cartwheel. I screamed as I started tryin' to cover up the wound with my arm. My tears stung as they rolled down my face. Everyone started tryin' to calm me down, but It just got worse when I pulled my arm down and saw my sleeve was drenched in blood. I threw up at the sight, all over the principle to be exact, before passing out. I've had a fear of blood ever since that day.

By technicality, the principal was wrong in sayin' I needed a counselor because I had Randy. After school, I'd wander on down to the creek n' skip rocks or catch toads until Ma would send Dante down in his truck to pick me up and take me back on home for supper. The creek was my escape and the spot where I met Randy. Randy, for lack of better terms, was my one and only friend besides Dante and my parents. Randy was a big spider that I had found on a rock down by the creek who's entire legs could wrap around my lil hand like a glove. I named Randy after a cool spy guy Dante had told me about from one of the movies he watched. Randy was big and really scary lookin' but he never bit me or hissed at me. He liked to crawl up my arm and sit there without movin' a muscle. He'd stare at me with his big ol' eyes and his little fangs would curl upwards, I liked to think he was smilin' at me. I loved Randy and i talked to him about everything that ever happened to me. One day, I ran down to the creek from school, being chased by a group of big kids who stuck around to catch me talkin' to Randy, since I talked about him at school. When they saw us talkin', they pinned me down, havin' the fat kid, who could barely take a step without losin' his breath, sit on me, then make me watch as they squashed Randy with a rock. The next day, I got sent home with a note from the principal saying I was suspended for hittin' a kid with a textbook in honor of Randy the Arachnid.

Sadly, the creek became pretty popular 'round these parts, especially after the whole Randy Event. Eventually, everybody at my school was goin' on down there once the bell rang to do all sorts of stuff, From fishing to swimming with the critters in the stream. Once everyone else started comin' down there, my life became hell. They used to take turns bullyin' me in all sorts of ways. The worst one was on my twelfth birthday, when they put me inna dress and sent me home cryin' to Ma and Pa. I never went back down to the creek after that. A couple weeks later, I heard Ma and Pa arguin'. Ma and Pa never fight, they've been together since the 40's so they've been pushin' a good 30 so years together. When I heard 'em fightin' I knew there was somethin' wrong. I snuck up to the attic and turned on the radio station to try and drown 'em out. Instead, I got an earful of warnin' sounds and presidential speech doohickeys. They were tellin' us to stay inside our homes and don't approach anyone with unnatural lookin' skin and other none human characteristics. I sat up there for a while, listenin' to the broadcasts from every channel and scarin' myself half to death. There was a loud crash downstairs and I heard Ma scream so loud i thought i was inside one of those scary movies Dante would watch with Mrs. Sander's daughter from down the road. I ran on down to see what was goin' on only to see Ma sprawled out on the floor covered in blood. Pa was on top of her but he looked different, sicker and scrawnier. He was eatin' Ma whole, tearing into her throat and chest like he did to the Turkey she would make on Thanksgivin'. I was so scared and disgusted that I threw up and pissed at the same time right then and there. There was a thud behind me and there was Dante, the knight in shinin' armor, the hero, standing in the door way with Pa's 12 gauge shotgun that he kept hangin' up in the shed out back with his tools. I stared up at Dante and started bawlin'. He looked down at me and for the first time in my entire life, I saw him cry. Dante never cried. Not at ma ma's funeral, Not at sad girly movies, I always saw him as this fearless superhero that always had a smile on his face and a fist ready for you if you crossed 'em. Yet, here he was, lookin' me in my face and still sheddin' just as many tears as me. Pa made a real nasty sound, like a coyote or a rabbid dog. Then, he jumped at me with his mouth open, like he was tryin' to eat me in one go. Right then, I thought I was done for and that I'd become Pa food just like Ma. There was a loud bang behind me and then Pa was on his back, sprawled out like a dead bug or a turtle on it's back. I was on the ground shakin', my dead parents right there in front of me. I started cryin' again but this time, I had a shoulder to cry on. Dante was holdin' me in no time as I bawled my eyes out on his shirt and squeezed him tight with my small, girly hands. He ain't say a word to me, just held me and let me cry for what felt like forever. Then I heard the sound again, the nasty sound that Pa made, but it was different this time. I saw somethin' stand up behind Dante. It was Ma.

I tried to tell him, but it was too late. She bit his shoulder as he yelled out in pain and pushed me back. He pumped the shotgun again and splattered her brains all over the walls like confetti. I ran over to him and checked to see if he was okay. He wasn't okay in the slightest, Ma had bit him deep. I was tryin' to cover it up with my hands but he slapped them away. "Listen Reggin', C'mon, hey now, look at me." He kept tryin' to calm me down but I was tremblin', I was losin' everyone I loved right before my eyes. "Listen okay? You gotta shoot me." His words pierced me like a knife and left a sour taste in my mouth. All I could do was shake my head no. "If you don't shoot me, ima turn into one of 'em and eat you. I need you to do this for me you umderstand?" I didn't understand. I didn't understand a damn thing. I just wanted it to be a nightmare that would all go away when Ma woke me with her gentle hands and soothing voice. He shoved the gun into my arms and placed his hand over mine.

"I know it's hard, but you gotta be strong okay? Listen to me, you need to run far away from here, it ain't safe. You take this gun. You shoot me and anyone else who tries 'n hurt you okay? You hear me?" He was yellin' at me now and that only made me sadder cause I knew he was serious. He wasn't playin' a prank on me. Ma and Pa weren't about to get up laughin' and call me a big baby while Dante gave me a noogie. He had meant every word that came out of his mouth. So, I did as I was told, and put the steel barrel to his head. He smiled at me as I squeezed the trigger, and Dante was no more.