Big Brother Barakat (Jalex)

Outlines (Alex's POV)

Things had taken a turn for me in recent years. One foster home here, one there. My mum, an alcoholic; my dad, well, I didn't know where he was. I hadn't ever had a stable lifestyle, and now that I was verging on being fifteen, I was sure that I wouldn't ever have the chance at one. I was being thrown into house and house, without my feelings being taken into play at all. I had lived back with my mum for the past two years while she was taking rehab classes at a local group home. Though things seemed to be going well, she relapsed, sending me into a world of constant pain, terror, and neglect. I fought to stay with her though, insisting she would change. 

But she never did. 

And later last year, at the age of only fourteen, I buried my mum at Forest Grove Cemetery. 

Afterwards, the legal system threw me into a group home I had been at before, one that seemed to only make me worse, but that was overlooked. It was all those ... those 'protectors' were willing to spend on me. After all, they kept telling me that in just three years time, I would be eighteen and be able to make my own decisions, though none of them trusted me to do so. 

- 

A week from my birthday, my fifteenth birthday, I got a call. It was urgent that I be brought to the nearest hospital, though I wasn't told why. When I got there, it felt like my world had stopped. My dad, a person whom I hadn't known at all in my fourteen years, was now there in front of me, hooked up to machines left and right. Turns out he had been in the same situation as my mum, though he dealt more with meth and cocaine. Living where I used to live, it was easy to get caught up in that scene, though I had always managed to stray away from it. And, now being face to face with a man whom I hadn't even recognized, a man who couldn't breathe on his own, I prayed to God for the first time, thanking him that I had avoided all those things in my fourteen years. 

Turns out I was called down to the hospital because I was his only blood-related family left, which meant I had to make the ultimate decision to 'unplug him.' Though it felt odd to be only fourteen and being able to decide the fate or someone who almost meant nothing to me, I didn't have much of a problem with telling the doctors to unplug him. The man abandoned my mum and I at less than a year old, leaving her to spiral out of control, and himself as well, I supposed. I was surprised I wasn't in their same position with all that's happened to me. 

- 

As my birthday rolled around, I hadn't much people to celebrate with. My parents, dead; the rest of my family, probably dead as well, nowhere to be found. Some had said they moved to America, while my mum and I stayed in the UK. Although, I wasn't sure if I believed them, because if they were still alive, even in another country, I could have gone to be with them. So, either they were dead or they didn't want to put up with me. Probably assumed I would turn out to be like my mum, or my dad now at this point. 

Needless to say, turning fifteen wasn't a happy occasion in my book. The day seemed to come and go like any other, though I had gotten a few gifts from my home mates. I wasn't close with any of them, and I mostly kept to myself anyway, only talking to someone if I was asked something. I had done that for fifteen years, and I was certain I could do it for another fifteen if needed. 

- 

Sunday, December 18th, 4:30 pm; four days after my birthday. I remembered the day as clear as could be. It was the day my life began to change. My home mate, Rian, had called me down into the meeting hall. Peggy was down there; she was a heavier-set woman, wrinkles on her face and arms. She was a fragile little thing, actually, but you wouldn't guess by looking at her. Her and I had never gotten along, but that day, she had a softened expression on her face, one that I couldn't see past. 

Later, I was introduced to a man who didn't seem much older than myself; eighteen, tops. He was taller, lanky, too. He had deep brown hair and deep brown eyes to match it. He wore a band t-shirt of a band I hadn't heard of, and below that, black skinny jeans covered his skinny legs. I studied the boy, taking in everything about him. I had a photographic memory, which came in handy in times like this. Though I wasn't good with names, I always remembered a face. 

"'Lex," Peggy called me by my nickname, though she knew I hated it. I was sure she only did it to get on my nerves. "This is Jack, he has volunteered to be your big brother."

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Okay, I really need to stop thinking of fic ideas, but I just caNT HELP IT! Anywaaaay, I'm liking this so far, and I hope it turns out like I want it too! Let me know whatcha think!