Never Let Me Go

History {Part 2}

A/N: Sorry for the long wait ya'll! This one was rather difficult. Just to clear something up that may be confusing, Maya was four when....ya know.....her birthday is in June, so she turned five after.....ya know happened.

Enjoy!

Flashback

Julian stared at the dingy ceiling of his holding cell. It wasn't the first time he had been locked up. Lord knows it wasn't. As sad as it may sound, he was actually proud as to why he was behind bars. He couldn't believe it when he found out his best friend from elementary school, the one he considered a brother, the one he trusted more than he trusted anyone else - was the one who had his beloved wife, Mercy killed. His rage was unparalleled. He had easily tracked down the two pieces of scum that did the deed. Finding out who ordered the hit took a little longer, but when he realized it was his own right hand man.....his wrath was beyond words. He wouldn't change a damn thing though about his actions that followed the big reveal. Not even being so consumed by his rage that he was unsuccessful with covering his steps. He had been sloppy which resulted in his current incarceration. No, only regret he had was that his poor, daughter Maya had been the one to find her mother's body, or what was left of it that is.

"Julian," his lawyer called out to him, running his hands over his face. "You gotta give me something to work with here."

"I'm paying you, aren't I?" Julian says back casually, arms resting behind his head.

"That's not what I meant man," Lionel, the head of Julian's elite legal team, responded with a heavy sigh. "Now, Mercy's parents have offered to take the twins in the case of...well....you know."

"The twins, huh?" Julian chuckles bitterly. "And what about Grace and Maya?"

"They're only willing to take the twins," Lionel grimaces. He dare not tell his short tempered client how his late wife's parents had been completely disgusted by his questioning about the other two kids. They had relayed to him how they were only taking the twins because there was still "time" for the six-month olds to be "redeemed." They explained how Maya and Grace were already "corrupted" by their fathers "sinful" lifestyle and they would not any form of "sin" into their good, Christian home.

Just thinking about it made Lionel wanted to throw up. People like them were the reason he despised organized religions.

"Of course," Julian laughed quietly. He didn't even need Lionel to elaborate. He knew what was up. Mercy's parents hated him the moment they laid eyes on him. They blamed him for almost everything that ever went "wrong" with their daughter. They accused him of "turning her out." Ironically, Grace's grandparents had said the same mindset about him and their daughter, Kaela. Truthfully, both sets of parents were to blame for their daughters rebelling against their harsh upbringing. They used a strict interpretation of the Bible to make their children's lives a living hell. The difference between Kaela and Mercy though was that the former of the two hadn't allowed herself to get caught up. The streets consumed Kaela.

Kaela and Julian were never a thing. They were so young when she became pregnant. Julian felt awful when he found out that her parents had forced the then thirteen-year-old to go in front of their church and "confess her terrible sin." He hadn't even realized she was pregnant until his lawyer alerted him that Kaela had lost custody of her child and the system was going to place her into the system unless he, listed on her birth certificate as her father, took her in. He did so without hesitation. Her parents had sent Kaela to live with her grandmother after finding out she was with child. He hadn't heard from her since then. Word around was that her parents caught her making out with a boy in her room and that was why they shipped her off. Considering she and Julian were nothing more than a one-night-stand, he didn't look more into the matter. It hurt when he found out that drugs had taken over Kaela's life. She was smart, kind, and always had dreams of making it out of the projects. Part of him felt responsible. Grace also had this mindset. She resented everything about the man that was her father. She blamed him for her mother's problems and hated having to live with him. Her grandparents wanted nothing to do with her and none of her mother's other family members had been willing to take her in. When her great grandma died, she felt as though her mother was all she had left of the old woman. Being taken away from her mother, despite her mother's lack of ability to care for her, caused Grace to become even more bitter.