Fragmented

Chapter 1

About a year has passed since my father has attempted to seize Lowell High School. Reyna is going to be a senior in high school. Thanks to our popularity with the media and the community, Reyna is popular around school and made next year's homecoming court. Quite an unnecessary accomplishment, but Reyna's bubbly personality and her involvement with the swim team were major influences, besides being the daughter of a former gang member and a cop. Weird mix, but they say that opposites attract.

And speaking of cops, Nate is continuing his job, being the talk of the police force. I'm not sure why everyone looks up to us. I assume it is because I was the daughter of a maniac, a former League member, or the only teacher in the entire high school who knows how to wield a gun.

My mother, meanwhile, has gotten a job at a craft store as a sales associate. Fitting, but she can't live alone on minimum wage. Luckily, she lives under our roof, but has her own life insurance, and finally got a car and a new license. How she was able to recover her birth certificate and social security, I will never know. She doesn't tell me a whole lot.

Students and teachers alike talk about me quite often. Positive, and negative, I hear everything. Some say I was a bloodthirsty gang member in my past life, while others say that their "asses were saved" by me. The gang member part was true, however, I am convinced that I did nothing to save these people. I was merely a hostage as well, defending others. There is a difference between defending and saving.

It was a warm Saturday afternoon. It is the weekend after school has been let out for the entire year. Nate and Mom are working still, but I am on vacation, as well as Reyna. Since Reyna and I werehome most of the time, we spend most of the summer days together, whether it was sipping lemonade on our front porch, or going to the beach. Either way, we bonded a little more.
Reyna and I were washing dishes in the kitchen when she asked me a question.

"What was Grandpa like?"

For a split second, I paused while scrubbing some scum off a dinner plate. I didn't want to taint a sunny day with a dark story. Reyna knew most of my background, but not Dad's. She had only seen him as a MK-47-wielding drunken maniac who took control of an entire school, leading one of the most notorious gangs in the world.

"Well," I started reluctantly, "your grandfather was quite the character."
"If you don't want to tell me, it's okay," Reyna told me reassuringly. She gently placed a ceramic mug into the drainer.

"Oh no, it's absolutely fine. I'll tell you all about him eventually."

About ten minutes later, we emptied the sink of any more dishes. We sat in the living room, Reyna sitting next to me on our couch.

"Your grandfather was not the nicest man," I informed her, "and it's because of a certain incident."

"He kept saying someone's name under his breath," Reyna implied, "who was it?"

I wanted to forget all about it. It was as if my whole family's entire world came crashing down that day.

"Years ago, when I was twelve or thirteen," I began, "My mother was pregnant with a baby. It's what my father always wanted; a boy. He never really cared about me or your grandma. His father had died when he was younger, so he was left with his abusive mother and sisters. Basically, he blamed us for Shepard's death, even though he died of natural causes. He was mad all his life, and only got worse from there."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Reyna grumbled.

"I know, but it took me years to figure out that it wasn't my fault."

"Wow."
Later that evening, Nate and Mom were making dinner together.

"How did your day go?" I asked Nate.

"It was all right I guess," he replied,

"Nothing special happened, besides a few speed racers, but that's nothing new."

"And yours?" I turned to my mom.

"It was okay," she said. "Nothing out of the ordinary, either."

The dinner was ready and we all sat down. Of course, Mom served everyone first and herself last.

"What do you think the rest of the summer's going to be like?" Mom inquired. She always wanted to make plans ahead of time.

"Not sure yet," I told her, "maybe plan a little getaway."

Mom smiled tenderly. "Sounds nice."

"I think we should go to Florida," Reyna suggested warily, knowing that my answer was going to be "no."

"You know we can't afford to go there," I reminded her gently. She rolled her eyes, then stuffed some fried chicken in her mouth.

"Someday, but definitely not today," Mom said wistfully.

"Definitely," I echoed.