Get It Together

Chapter 10

Hector Perez

I just finished getting dressed when I got a text message from Liseth James, The counselor from the kids school.

I met her when Lani called me up to fix her car. She's a beautiful woman, educated, Kind, and Big hearted. She's also Melvin's older sister. They have a good bond.

She's a good woman so I backed off. I like her very much but I do live a lifestyle that I don't want to corrupt her. I was very honest about my feelings and what I do.

Liseth told me that didn't matter to her but I still fell back anyways. I just don't want her to get hurt. I want love but I also know the risk of a woman loving me.

I text back letting her know how Lani was doing avoiding answering her question about us meeting for lunch.

I walked to Jose's room and he wasn't there. I've been trying to give him space to work out his feelings on his own because ultimately I won't always be around to soothe his nerves. He has ran miles in this race and he's been winning I'm so proud of him and the man he has become.

I made my way to the second floor of the basement and behold he was there painting on his large canvas.

My nephew is talented and smart. I brought him an art kit when he turned 7 as an outlet. Jose's mom, my oldest sister was on drugs and couldn't give it up.

I was 17 when he was born and I've had his back even before he came in this world.

She would leave him all the time.

After I caught her getting high in the room while holding him I took him from her.

Even high out her mind she knew she couldn't raise him. I balanced being a senior in high school with a newborn baby boy. I graduated top of my class.

When I turned 18 I adopted him and we headed off to college together.

I attended Stanford University, Majored in Business and got a Minor in Computer science in 2 1/2 years. it was hard but I made due but regardless of me getting caught up in the streets young, I took my education seriously. I made it work.

I had to feed my family so I did what I had to do. Our father was a drunk and a racist.

Me and Jose's mother, Isabel, have the same mother and father but our sister, Olivia who is Juju's mother has...well had her own mother Arshay.

He was a piece of work to us but imagine how he was to our half black sister.

I never understood how he was so mean and racist but pro created with a black woman. That never rubbed off on me nor Isabel despite him trying to make us.

Arshay was a beautiful woman with a gentle soul. Olivia wasn't an accident my dad truly loved Arshay but he was so stuck in ways and fighting a good thing he believed was wrong that he lost her.

He stayed with our mother because it was the "right" way to do things but I don't believe in that. You should love who you love regardless of differences.

I love my mother but she was terrible. She stood by and watched how he treated all of us out of spite for Arshay and Olivia.

She wasn't always bad just like our father wasn't always a dick. There were times he was so good to Olivia drunk or not.

He was an evil drunk but I knew he was capable of love just not with his kids.

We grew up tight Arshay made sure of it.

She used to cuss our father out any chance she got because our mother would never stand up for us.

Oddly, they would let her take us from the house. We would spend the night with them weeks at a time and she would take us to so many places it was the best times of our lives.