Becoming Riley

Chapter 1-Beginings and Endings

It all started in California, by the coastal waters and Golden State Bridge, in early '95. A baby was born; a girl. She is known now by many names and known by many faces but back then she was just simply Riley S. Vern. Weighing merely 4 pounds and 5 ounces she had most of her weight within her pumpkin cheeks and big green eyes that would one day see the world of all it's colors and truths. You see, when a baby is born it is to be celebrated. Not her, dare I say, especially not for the Verns' case. This family was short on a supply of good hearts and an excess in greed and jealousy. Riley Vern, such a small baby girl, did not know what was in store for her yet. After all, she was just born.

She was, however, taken notice by her older brother. For only being two years apart there seemed to be a connection between Riley and Liam. Of course Liam was the favorite of their parents. He had deep brown eyes that seemed to sink even the toughest of ships and sandy hair so curly it made Arby's curly fries look straight. His aura conveyed the term "relaxed" to everyone he met so it was no shock Mr. and Mrs. Vern paid more attention to their eldest child. Always taking pictures with him and not caring about the screaming hungry newborn next to them. But one would think with the newborn in the house the other sibling would throw tantrums out the wazoo and be understood for it. Wrong. Liam was different, so was Riley. Even for a toddler he knew he had to protect Riley throughout her life. Liam knew the moment he laid eyes on his little sister that they would be together forever.

As Riley grew older the pumpkin cheeks stayed, however Mrs. Vern did not. Often enough the Verns would get entangled with using alcohol and drugs. The couple knew they would be caught some time soon, so they decided to move some place new. Tulsa, OK became their vicinity of life for the next fifteen years. Living inside a cockroach infested house was all they could afford seeing as Mrs. Vern was a stripper and Mr. Vern knew nothing but carpeting. Struggles of poverty due to lack of incoming currency and the spending of meth and booze came into the picture really quick. Feeling as if she was trapped and had no idea what she got herself into Mrs. Vern went to a friends house to get away from her abusive husband. It was there she was caught with her friends being in possession of illegal substances where she was carted away to prison. Riley and Liam were barely 4 and 6 when it all went down that day. Many a times Mr. Vern would, too, be in police custody for substance or assault and battery against someone. Lucky for him however he had a loving mother who paid his way out of before he could go to prison. To this day this story might have had a happier ending if his mother let him do his time, but we will never know.

As Mrs. Vern was taken to prison for the next 9 years Mr. Vern tried to raise Riley and Liam alone, not successfully might I add. There was the struggle of his alcoholism that caused him to go into drunken rages and the drug abuse that would lead him to multiple days of slumber and forgetfulness. His mother soon fought to keep the children who were barely in kindergarten, they weren't even old enough to understand the problems going on in their lives. Surely enough the courts allowed Grandma Vern to have custody of her grandchildren. It was then she realized she, too, was forgetful. For months on end she would forget to take them to school or even remember they had to go in the first place. Her heart was in a good place, her actions not so much.

It was then things began going even more downhill for the lives of Riley and Liam. Together they would conquer all of it no matter what and become who they were meant to be.