Opposites Attract

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On a rainy day in Boston, a beautiful baby was born. Her laughter filled the room and the people waiting outside opened the doors rapidly so that they would be able to see her. The women holding the baby was filled with joy as she said,
"Your name will be Olivia, my beautiful Olivia." 
A lonely mother, holding her baby and cheerful people standing next to her made the atmosphere so peaceful that even the furious smiled. Her father died three months before Olivia was born. Her mother referred to her as "my salvation". They lived in great conditions, plenty of food, and a large house was a perfect dream at that time. Olivia knew she was lucky. Her mother was always there for her, even though they had problems, like any family.
On that same day, a boy was born. He cried loudly because of the darkness that filled the room. The dust made him cough and cry even louder. The woman holding him was tired and sad, but you could see she had a vague smile as she looked down at her baby. This was the first time she truly smiled in months. Her husband burst into yelling.
"Oh great, another mouth to feed! It isn't enough that we had you. I should urr eu throw him out in the rain and let him starve, that's what you deserve. Consider this an act of kindness from me. Come clean the dishes and prepare the food that we have."
Frightened, the mother quickly put him into his bed that was made of a few straps of clothing and a small blanket. She ran out of the room forgetting that the boy didn't have a name.
"Coming! Please don't be mad, I'll do everything."
Growing up, Olivia experienced wonderful moments with her mother. Even though they were lonely, she was happy. She caught her mother crying a couple of times in the kitchen, but every time she asked what's wrong her mother said,
"Nothing my dear, tears of happiness. Now go play, I'll be there in a minute."
On the other side of the city, the boy cried every night of starvation. His father yelled at his mother all the time. Sometimes he would hit her when she would drop a glass of water, because of the shaking. At night, when her husband was asleep, she would hold him and speak to him calling him Noah. Growing up Noah would spend most of his time outside looking at the sky wondering what it would feel like if he would have been rich, or his family would have been happy. His father hated him, he always referred to him as "a waste of space". Noah was always sad but he never cried around his father. Once, his father caught him crying because of the stress and screaming and he dragged him across the room yelling at him and hitting him asking,
"Why are you crying, am I not doing enough for you?! You are a waste of space so don't you dare cry."
He never cried when his father was home. Ryan, his dad, was mostly drunk, wasting all of the money on beers and cigarettes. When Noah was old enough, he protected his mother from him. He would go out at night and cry under the stars. Olivia had her insecurities, her mother wanted her to be perfect. Emilia, her mom, wanted her daughter to be the person she never got to become. Once, as she practiced her piano lessons, her mom came yelling at her that she could hit the right notes and that she wasn't trying enough. Olivia always answered,
"Sorry mom, I'll do better. I promise."
After a couple of hours her mom would always come and apologize for yelling. Olivia knew she was sorry but she still felt like something was missing. Late at night she would go outside and lay on the grass looking at the stars wondering what it would feel like to be free. One day they were both escaping their parents walking in the tall grass around the city. Olivia started running, and Noah walked peacefully, thinking deeply. They almost bumped into each other as they emerged into the sunset.
"Oh, sorry! I didn't see you," Olivia said, breathing heavily.
"No problem, what are you doing on this side of the town? Shouldn't a girl like you be in the city?" Noah asked, admiring her clothes.
"A girl like me? Oh no, I'm sick of it all. I rather be free than be rich," she laughed softly.
"Pf, it's the other way around for me," he replied smiling.
They sat down talking about their complicated lives and how they always wished for different things. Noah was surprised by their differences but still, they could get along so well. They could talk for hours and hours. Olivia was always smiling, thinking that she finally got someone to talk to. They laughed and cried together until the sun went down. When it got dark they got up and parted, going in different directions.
"When will I see you again?" Noah asked, hoping that they'll see each other soon.
"Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and so on!" Olivia answered, smiling.
Noah, even though he felt happy, like he hasn't felt in so many years, he was stressed. He knew that his father would be home and that he would be late. His mom always told him to come home before dark so that he won't get in any trouble. As he opened the door and walked inside he saw his father sitting on a chair with a beer bottle in his right hand. He looked like he was sleeping, his head was down and his breathing was constant, but when Noah took his first step to get to his room, Ryan lifted his head and looked at him with a gaze that Noah knew very well. He remained petrified, waiting for what would happen next. His father stood up, throwing the beer bottle aside, trying to keep his balance.
"Where were you!? You think you can leave and come back into this house whenever you want to?! You were supposed to help your mom do the chores, but no, you left like a "big boy"! Who do you think you are?" After his father finished yelling he grabbed Noah's arm and punched him twice. One time hitting him in the face and the other into his stomach. Blood was dripping from Noah's nose, which made his father more angry.
"Clean this up! You won't eat anything for dinner, you don't deserve anything from me." His father looked at him with disgust. Noah fell on the floor keeping his head down with no tears in his eyes.
As Olivia was walking home, she couldn't stop smiling. Her mom always told her to be careful when she leaves the house, she couldn't wait to get home so she could tell her about the boy she just met. She ran into the house, opening the door loudly.
"Mom! I'm home!" Her mom came from the kitchen wearing a cooking sort, smiling.
"Wow, well look at you. What happened? Why are you so excited? Her mom asked, looking at her with curiosity.
"Well, I was walking around the city, and I met a-"
"Actually you can tell me all about it at dinner, food is ready. Saying that, she turned around going back to the kitchen. Putting the food on the table waiting for her. Olivia ran upstairs putting her coat in the drawer, she went downstairs and sat at the table looking at the food her mom prepared.
"Oh, I'm starving. Everything looks great mom! You should become a chef!" She said laughing.
"Oh my, well thank you." her mom replied, looking amused. "So tell me, who did you meet?"
"Yes! I met this boy as I was walking around the city. He looked so sad, but he had such a different life. He told me about his father who was very mean to him and considered him useless. We sat down and talked about our lives and how we felt. I told him about you, and how you try your best to raise me and teach me everything that I need to know. I told him that I sometimes felt like I wasn't enough but this was nothing compared to what he was feeling. Even though he was filled with sadness he would never cry around his father. I think the main issue for him is his father, Ryan. He sometimes hits him, and wastes all of his money on drugs and beers."
"Ryan? Did you say that his name is Ryan? The kid's father??" her mom asked, looking terrified. She started shaking, and tears were coming out of her eyes.
"Yes, that's what I said. Mom? What happened, do you know him? Olivia replied, looking at her mom with fear.
"Yes, I do know him. I think it's time for me to tell you the truth." Emilia said, feeling empty and sad.
"What? What are you talking about? What do you mean to find out the truth?"
"The boy's father, Ryan, is my brother. I haven't seen him for a very long time. We had a very ugly fight and when our father died we met for the first time in 5 years, and the last time. I promised myself that I won't be near that guy ever again. He often used to hit me and yell at me. He started drinking when our mom died. He blamed himself for it. She died in a car crash when she was picking him up from school. She died and he survived, our father blamed him for it as well. He started abusing him and using Ryan as a slave. I had no idea that in a couple of years Ryan will become that kind of person."
"What? Why would you keep something like this from me? You know you could've told me.." Olivia answered looking disappointed.
"Yes I know, I don't really know why I didn't. I guess I wanted to leave everything in the past, I'm sorry."
"It's ok mom, I am happy that you told me this now. I am going to meet with Noah everyday..maybe we could invite him over some time" Olivia told her mother with sympathy.
"Ok sure, I just don't want to meet his father ok?"
"Yes, only Noah. You know I am surprised by how different we are.. I feel sorry for him." Olivia said, her voice filled with sadness.
"I do too, I wouldn't want anyone to be near Ryan." Her mom replied, her face went blank as she got up and went to bed. Olivia was shocked by how many things her mother had to endure. It was all because of Ryan's guilt. She wondered if Noah would become like his father. That thought made her shake, but now he had her and she would do everything to prevent that. The next day Olivia woke up feeling dizzy, her head hurt and she was hungry. As she went downstairs she heard her mother crying in the living room.
"Mom? Why are you crying? Are you ok?" She asked as she was going down the stairs.
"Yes, I'm fine.. I am just a little tired from yesterday. Don't you have school? Go, hurry up, it's late." Her mom answered, wiping her tears away. Olivia ran back downstairs, got dressed then quickly ate breakfast so she could get to school on time. She ran out the door so she could catch the bus yelling her mother goodbye. She couldn't forget the scene from this morning, she hated it when her mom was sad. On the other side of the city, Noah woke up starving, his dad was yelling his name from the other room. He quickly got dressed and ran out of his small room into the other where he found his dad standing and waiting for him.
"What took you so long?! Today you are going to make some money. You are going to sell these books that belonged to your mom for $3 each. Understood? Good." he said as Noah nodded his head in response. He could see his mother crying beside her bed. He guessed it was because she didn't want to sell the books.
"Now go!" his father shouted.
Noah grabbed his coat and ran out the doors with the books in his hand.
"Be back at sunrise, then you will eat breakfast." His father yelled before his son would disappear into the cold air of the morning. Noah went on the streets moving from place to place, trying to sell the books. In a few hours he sold only 1 from 14. It got colder and colder so he decided to sit down and leave the books on the floor so people could see them. People passed by looking at him with disgust just like his father did. He felt worthless, humiliated. There were one or two people from 50 that looked at the books and 1 from 80 that bought them. At the end of the day he was left with 5 books. He knew he had until sunrise but there were less people with every hour that passed. He had to meet Olivia at the same spot and the same hour, so he ran until he arrived at the right place. He waited a couple of minutes and Olivia arrived as well. Her face lightened up when she saw him, it was the same feeling for him. Even if Noah didn't sell all of the books he was still happy.
"Hey! I'm so glad you came!" Olivia exclaimed.
"Yeah, me too. At one point I thought I wouldn't make it." Noah said, feeling relieved.
"Why not?" Olivia asked.
Noah explained what his father told him to do and the scenes from last night.
"What?! O my God..I am so sorry.. I wish I was there so I could've helped you. Did you sell all of the books?" Olivia asked.
"No I didn't..I have five more left." Noah answered, looking at her with shame.  Olivia reached into her pochet and got $20 and handed it to him.
"Here, consider this a gift from me."
"What? No I can't accept I'm sorry.. You are too kind."
"You have to accept..I am not leaving until you do." Olivia smiled as she put the money into his hand. He let her take four books, keeping one for himself. They stayed together until sunrise, when Noah had to go home. By the time he got home he was starving, he could barely stand. When he opened the door he was shaking. He was thinking that he didn't make enough money. His father was never proud of him.
"Home already??! I hope you sold all those books, Noah, for your sake. How much money did you make?" His father asked, looking at him suspiciously. Noah handed out the money and his father's eyes sparkled.
"Well, well, more money than you needed. The people were nice weren't they. Did you give all the books?" his father asked, when Noah nodded he smiled, taking the money and putting them into his pocket.
"Good, you can go eat now, I think your lazy mother prepared something for you."
"Thank you father." Noah said looking down and then he ran into the kitchen where he ate rapidly. Even though he lied, keeping his mom's favorite book tight into his jacket, he was happy and he felt safe. Once he was done eating he ran into his room, trying to avoid his drunk father. He called his mom quietly and asked her if she could come to him. When she arrived in his room, he handed the book to her. Tears were running down her face, tears of happiness. She hugged her son and whispered a thank you. They both went to sleep, later at night, Noah woke up because of the screaming and the crying that were echoing in the house. He quickly got out of bed and ran into his parent's one. The screaming had stopped which was new to him. He looked inside to see his dad holding a broken glass bottle in his hand and the book that Noah gave his mom in the other. He looked to the right and saw his mom lying on the floor full of blood, not moving. Her head was bleeding and her eyes were closed.
"What did you do?!! Mom? Mom! Wake up!" Noah screamed and ran to her side. The blood was abundant and it wouldn't stop. For the first time in years Noah started crying right in front of his father. Nothing mattered now, only his mom who wasn't moving.
"Please mom, come back, wake up! No,no..please mom.. Please come back to me.. I need you..mom.." He stayed like that until her body was cold and pale. When he got up, he went directly to his father who was so drunk that he fell asleep like nothing happened. That night something changed inside Noah. He wasn't feeling anything anymore..he was empty and full of rage. He took a knife from the kitchen and stared at his father.
"You deserve this.. You ruined our lives. At least mom doesn't have to be here with you." He said silently, then within a few seconds he stabbed his father in the chest 4 times, with a power he had no idea he owned. He dropped the knife, looked at his father one more time. He took the money his dad was hiding in the house, grabbed his jacket, and a couple more things and left. He opened the door and stepped outside without looking back.

To Be Continued...