Say Goodbye (A Chris Brown Love Story)

Chapter One

"Shut up, Clarice! I'm tired of hearing you talk!" My father shouted at the top of his lungs. My parents were too busy yelling at each other to even notice that my baby sister, Daniella, was wailing in her crib. She was only 8 months. My parents always did this. After my mom comes home from being the whore that she is, a screaming match would erupt between them and I would go to my crying sister to comfort her. I couldn't take much more of this.

I climb out of bed and creep past my parents's room to Dani's room. She was waving her little fists and crying loudly.

"Shhh, Dani." I picked her up and cradled her to my chest. "Big brother is here." She started to nibble on my finger like she always did when she didn't have her pacifier. I kissed her soft baby hair and bounced her in my arms a little. Now that she had stopped crying, the scream match between my parents seemed to have gotten even louder. I wanted to march in there and tell them to shut up but my dad would literally kill me and I didn't want that to happen. Especially when I had a baby sister to take care of. My mom didn't even breast feed her when she was born because she was too busy out sleeping with men to make money while my dad was on the corner selling drugs. I was all she had, she counted on me to keep her healthy and safe. And I was never gonna let her down.

"You know what! Fuck you, Kevin! I'm sick of this shit!" My mother screamed, causing Dani to start whining. I covered her ears and softly blew on her face to soothe her. She loved it when I did that. I came out her room and proceeded downstairs away from my parents bedroom. At least it was quieter down here. I descended down some more steps into the den where you could barely hear them. There was another crib down here and this is where we slept most of the time to escape the harsh words that they were throwing at each other. It sickened me because right after they got through screaming, they'd have sex and I hated hearing their gross moans from their bedroom.

"Don't worry, Dani. One of these days, I'm going to get you away from this horrible place." I whispered to her while laying her in the crib even though I probably couldn't do that. I was only 14, I didn't know how to live on my own. But I would try for my baby sister.

Everyday when I rode the bus home from school, we would pass by this house and it seemed nice but it was empty and it was a good little ways from my house. Maybe I could go check it out and see if it was livable. It would be perfect for me and Daniella and I could finally get her away from this house and my parents. But then I would have to find away to make money so I could get us food and clothing. What am I thinking, I can't take care of a baby. But I want a better life for her. There was a foster home about 6 miles from here, maybe I could take her there. Although, I doubt she'd want to leave me. I was all she had.

I pulled the blankets up as I laid down on the bed that was down here. Dani was right next to me in her crib just like I liked it. I hated having her far away from me because then I felt like I couldn't protect her. I would always protect her no matter what. Always...

I woke up early enough to put my plan to work. If I got ready now, I could take Daniella and go check out that house to see if it was okay to live in. But I can't leave her there by herself while I'm at school, she's 8 months old and can't take care of herself. Man, what am I going to do? I could get someone to watch her but then they would want to be paid and money is not what I have right now.

I got dressed anyways and dressed Daniella up to take her with me. She was just giggling and babbling like she didn't have a care in the world. She didn't know what was going on. I kinda wish I was her. She knew nothing about the real world because she was just a baby. Babies don't care about anything. Why did my parents do this to her? They knew they couldn't raise another child but my mom got pregnant anyway.

She ate the baby food I gave her and she probably wasn't gonna be hungry until much later. That was one thing I liked, whenever she ate, she wouldn't be hungry for hours and then she would get hungry again.

"Dani, are you ready to go?" I whispered. She clapped her hands and reached out towards me. I put my backpack on my back and grabbed her baby bag before picking her up and sitting her in her stroller. I hooked the bags on the stroller so I wouldn't have to carry anything. It was a long walk so I need my energy and it will be easy to just push her. I looked at the clock, 5am. Perfect. I picked up the stroller and sat it outside the front door quietly so I wouldn't wake my parents. I locked the door once I closed it back and slipped the key in my pocket. As we proceeded down the driveway onto the sidewalk, Dani started laughing and clapping at the sight of the fireflies that were flying in front of her. It was still dark so they would be out until the sun came up which was in about 30 to 45 minutes. I started pushing her and walking down the sidewalk, it seemed like it was easy but it was just a long walk. She was going to fall asleep soon, I just know it. I hope she has sweet dreams.

30 minutes passed and the sun was just spilling over the horizon. Only a little while longer to the house. Dani had passed out 20 minutes ago and I could see her smiling in her sleep. Maybe she was having a good dream about whatever she thinks about. I wonder what babies think about. They don't understand anything or maybe they do and we just don't know it. That's a thought for later. Time passed and when I looked at my watch, it said 6am. I should be there by now. When I looked up, I could see the house just ahead. The grass was a bit overgrown but didn't care. I sped up and once I got to the house, I pushed Dani up to the porch and sat her in the shade while I went to check out the house. The front door was unlocked so I stepped in, glancing around. There was furniture and appliances in the kitchen. It looked like the people who use to live here just walked out and left everything. The dishes were in the cabinets and there were even a few boxes of can goods under the sink and under the table. There were a lot of canned peaches, Dani loved peaches.

I checked upstairs and saw three bedrooms, each one having a bed and was made up nice and neatly. Just a little dusty. I heard Dani babbling and I ran back downstairs to see a lady standing there. She had pushed Dani inside the house and when she saw me, shock filled her face.

"Well hello there." She said, her voice breaking the complete silence in the house.

"U-uh, I'm sorry, I thought this house was abandoned." I said, my voice shaking.

"It is, I just crash here every so often but I was kinda shocked to come here and see a baby on the front porch. Who are you?" She walked closer to the stairs.

"My name is Chris. That's Daniella, my baby sister. I-I ran away from home with her because my parents are horrible people and I needed to get her out of there."

"And you came here to live on your own and provide for her?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"I was in a similar situation. But what are you planning on doing to make money?"

"I don't know. I was hoping to figure something out."

"I think I can help you get a job and you can make a lot of money from it."

"Really? That sounds great!"

"You'll be perfect for the job." She placed her hand on my head. "Oh and by the way, my name is Brandy."

"How old are you?" I asked her.

"I'm 21. And you?"

"14. Dani is 8 months." Just then Dani started whining and squirming in her stroller. I take her out of it and put her on my hip, twirling one of her curls on my finger.

"I think we'll get along just fine, Chris." Brandy said. "I think we'll get along just fine."