Life with the Ryan Boys

Chapter 1

4 years ago

"Mom can you please turn down the music?" 12 year old Payton asked her mother late one night.

Her mom- an alcoholic- and her dad- a drug dealer- had parties like these almost every night. Usually until the very early hours of the morning and they always told her to stay in her room. This was the first night Payton had disobeyed and gone out. She never had the courage to speak up to her mom or dad when something like this happened, but tonight was different. She had a huge test tomorrow for school in a subject she was failing- not that her parents cared.

Currently Payton was watching her mom suck face with a man who was certainly not her father. Of course her dad knew about it.... he was standing a few feet away doing the same thing. This was the one thing Payton could never tell her friends in school. That her mom and dad never pay attention to her and couldn't give two shits about her. She also never had friends over...but the way Payton saw it, she didn't have that many friends to invite over. She only had three true friends.

"I thought I told you to stay upstairs," Her mom sneered as she came up for a breath.

"Y-you did, but I've got a big test tomorrow. And I sorta wanted to get some sleep," Payton replied, choosing her words carefully.

"Oh, well isn't that just a shame. To bad kid. Now run on back upstairs," Her mom said turning back to Mr. No-name.

She sighed and trudged her way upstairs to my room. Payton made sure to lock her door and push a chair up against it so no one could get in. She put her pillow over her head and tried to drown out the music from downstairs, but it only seemed to get louder. Finally rolling over and getting up, Payton searched for some ear plugs. She found them -put them in deep in her ear to where she could barely hear anything- and layed back down to sleep.

Thirty minutes had gone by and still the music hadn't been turned down at all. Payton looked at her alarm clock. It was two in the morning. She tried going to sleep again and she almost did...but the earplugs didn't block out everything. Especially the loud gun shots she heard from downstairs. Payton felt so scared after she heard them...then she heard two more. She hoped deep inside that no one had gotten seriously injured. The cops wouldn't be coming by anytime soon. They lived in a rough neighborhood where no one cared how many parties you threw or how late you stayed up. Soon after she fell asleep...but not as peacefully as she would have liked.

  ~~~Next Morning~~~

    Payton woke up to the sound of banging on her door. Thinking it might be her mother she moved the chair and unlocked the door. Standing in front of her where several cops bearing guns. Payton took a step back being a little scared.

    "It's okay. We're just searching the house. What's your name," The officer asked her.

"Payton Reeves," She replied.

   "Well Payton, Im Officer James. We got a call earlier about a disturbance and a nasty smell coming from the house. Was that you?" He asked.

     "No. I was supposed to stay upstairs while my parents threw this party. I was trying to sleep but then I heard the gun shots," Payton said crossing her arm.

    "Can you tell me what your parents look like?"

"My mom looks like me but taller and her eyes are more green than mine are. And my dad has dark brown hair and really bright blue eyes," Payton answered. Then a thought hit her.

    "Officer James, are my parents hurt?" She asked him.

Officer James looked at her with a sad smile. She didnt know what that look was supposed to mean...but Payton could tell it wasnt good.

   "Payton we're gonna take you down to the station with us and have someone look after you for a little while," Officer James said stepping back so Payton could walk through the door.

   She followed behind some other officers slowly. Once they got to the police car, Officer James opened the door for her and then shut it before getting in the drivers side. The ride was quiet and Payton sort of liked the quiet. It's what she always wanted at night but never got.

   At the station Payton sat in Officer James' office in his big spinny chair. Usually Payton loved chairs like these, but not today. For the past ten minutes she had been watching Officer James talk to some lady in a buisness suit with a clipboard. Every once in a while the lady would write something down, but neither of the two ever looked at Payton. Finally Officer James  and lady came into the office.

    "Payton, this is your case worker Lindsey Peters," Officer James said.

Payton was confused. She knew what case workers were for. Kids who's parents died and... That's when it hit her.

   Payton's lip trembled, "M-my parents. They're d-dead."

That's when the tears flowed from her eyes and Lindsey pulled up another chair and comforted her.

    "Mrs.Peters, I've got some paper work to fil out. When she's ready just let me know," Officer James siad walking out of his office to talk to a man in a suit.

      "Payton, I know this is going to be hard. But you're being put in the foster system," Lindsey said pulling Payton up to look at her.

   "But I have other family," Payton siad wiping away her tears.

"None of them wanted you, sweetheart. That's why I'm here. I'm supposed to find you a suitible home within a month before you are sent to a girls home," Lindsey siad with a sad look in her eyes.This was the hardest part of her job.

    "I need to have Officer James come in so we can discuss where you will stay while I'm finding you a home. Are you ready?"

   Payton nodded her head and Lindsey got up to tell Officer James to come back in. That was how it started. They talked for an hour about where to put her - a building in the city that houses children like her but it wasnt a girl's home. Once Payton was there, she spent years moving around all over.

    "Oh the joy of being a foster kid," Payton siad on evening in the car with Lindsey Peters.

"It'll get better, Payton. You've been nothing but a nice kid to all of the families I dont understand why they give you back. I think this next one wil be perfect," Lindsey siad smiling at her from the drivers side.

 But of course it wasnt. It wasnt perfect at all for four years of her life.

  Aouthors Note!!!!

 Leah here:) SO this is mine and Tuesday's first book written together and I want to know what you think. Please rack up those votes and comments!!!! We would really appreciate it!!!!! Thanks! Loves and kissed <3