More Than Meets the Eye

part 1

People wait their whole lives to turn 18, start college, move out or get a job. To be able to
make their own, usually irresponsible decisions without the control of their parents. But for Kennedy the day really could have not happened faster. From the moment she could talk she acknowledged she had a very different life.
Her parents June and Darcy only twenty when they met, the pair only brought out the worst in each other the moment they met. Her mother was severely depressed and dealt with psychosis. Her dad was a narcissist who's only love was weed and cocaine. Drugs and alcohol ran their lives until the minute that stick had two lines six months after meeting. Although she would let herself cheat. "Just one" she would say, one, two, three later and now she was at the end of Darcy's belt again. He said it was cause she was crazy, ungrateful, stupid which drove her to be even worse. If she wasn't using she was sleeping it off for days at times. They scream hit then cry in each others arms and fall asleep just like that on the floor. When Kennedy was born, June found herself going quiet at how much she loved her already. I made this she thought as she smiled at the small thing in her arms. Darcy laughed and she cooed saying, "It looks like an alien." As much as June really did adore her, it didn't stop her from the habits. So for most of Kenny's young life she took care of her. While her father was run off somewhere no one knew, she would watch her when her breathing got too rigid or give her water and food went she was sick days after trying to stop. Her dad was never around coming only for money or to come beat them when he would realize he had to remind June of what he thought of her, keep her weak and around is what he thought.
"I always hated you, such a waste of time" he spit at her teary eyed face. Kennedy always had to be present when this happened, Darcy said it would make her realize how people are gonna treat if she acted how her mother did. She would just sit their motionless as her father would beat her and throw insults till she was bruised and bleeding. Then after she would look fearfully at him as he'd march over to Kennedy and slap her or call her names. She was four when this first happened. He'd leave after that usually and the two would cry together and Kennedy would beg her to leave.
She never did.

She made one friend that year at school, West.
He was a sweet soul and he cared for her a lot, bringing her lunches and sweaters when she didn't have them. At first a lot of people thought he liked her even Kennedy herself thought it for a while. She later found out that's just who he is. he had soft green eyes and curly brown hair, he gave the look of a prince.

When she was five her mother came to her saying she would get to be a big sister, she even got to see the little one on the screen at the appointment. It made her love hospitals, or at least the pink scrubs and monkey stickers. Thats where found out it was a girl. a sister she couldn't wait, she wouldn't be alone this was her set in best friend in there. They even
decided her name would be Stella. Kennedy and Stella best friends forver

But when a week later she heard a scream in the bathroom and opened the door to find her mother bleeding on the floor, she knew even then something was wrong. She knew well enough how to call 911 as she had to have the experience. Which June stopped her from doing, telling her that she wouldn't see mommy anymore if she did that. Darcy was called but he unsurprisingly never answered nor showed up. Kennedy had to be the one to open her mothers legs and look at the blood and clean it. She was yelled at to get a test, painkillers and water. They found out that night there was no more baby. June went in a deep spiral, she would wake up screaming about how she wished it was her. Kennedy experiencing no different. Instead of help, her father filled June with more substances, ones that she'd never tried and definitely never should've. Six months later, she was pregnant again. This time, Kennedy didn't react as she had fully expected this one to never come either as nothing had changed and if anything only worsened. Even after the bump grew, the young girl would ignore her mothers offer to touch her belly or to see the pictures. not again i wont. The only thing she knew is that it was a boy again due to overhearing her father say that he would finally have a kid to be proud of.

So it was shocking when eight months later, there was a scream for not blood out of fear, but for excitement of her water breaking which poured all down her legs in the middle of the living room. They repeated the process as before as there was still no sign of her dad. She held June's hand as she screamed and cried until finally doctors went silent after one last push. "Get her out" the head OB said swiftly which the nurse quickly responded to by grabbing Kennedy's hand and dragging her. "No! what's happening" she tried to turn but the nurse kept her forward and covered the scene with her body.
"Lets go" she spoke calmly pushing to move forward.
"Let me see!" she ripped her hand away and faced the opening of the blanket to where the baby laid eyes closed and blue, the cord attached to his stomach came around his neck. She gasped loudly and fell to the ground covering her eyes as she screamed and kicked. She didn't stop till the nurse dragged her to the other side of the curtain to a bed where she was pushed with sedatives. She didn't remember anything after that as she had gone into a deep sleep. The nurse rushed back where the other had already connected the baby to a monitor and cut him free of the cord. He began to give compression to the newborn and opened his mouth even trying an oxygen tank after. They tried and tried and almost had given up until they heard a light beeping start as a gasp come from the small thing. Tears pricked both their eyes as they looked back to inform June of the great news. What they had fine unnoticed to was that June was flatlined, they didn't even hear it. Neither had dealt with something like that. They repeated the process but she was gone already, she slipped so quietly and it was later realized she had actually overdosed.
Kennedy was shocked, not that she overdosed since she had before just not to the point of death clearly. She was shocked because now she was to raise this baby, she knew she'd already would have done a lot but June was gone. She knew this meant the end of her childhood. West will never believe this she thought as silent tears slipped out. The newborn, which she discovered was a boy, was named by Kennedy as Sal Ledger. Sal meaning "savior"'which is what this baby was to her now. The nurse knocked and came back in explaining as simply as possible all they did for the baby and asked a few questions.

"Do you two have the same father" she nodded. "Can we contact him" she shook her head, "Well I don't think he has a phone" a lie. "Well can he come get you later" she nodded. another lie most likely.

"Oh baby do you have someone we can call for now" she shook her head yes this time as she gave the number for West's mother, who she know would come in a heartbeat. The line picked up on the second ring, "Hello why is the hospital calling! I don't believe I have an appointment" she said with a tired voice, the nurse
cleared her throat as she looked
sadly at Kennedy.
"Hi Mrs. Adams i'm sorry it's late but I have some information to share, could you come
as soon as possession" she obliged without a word as she heard the whimpering young girl in the back.

When West's family arrived they told them of the situation and what had happened to her. West held Kennedy all night as she cried, his mother being trusted with Sal.
And although now her life would be completely different anything was better than living with Darcy.

a/n: I think it is Latin origin which Sal comes from, although correct me if im wrong on this pls🥲