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For the last two hours Jesse went back and forth between looking at the flyer and pushing it away from him. He didn't know why he was still contemplating about trying out — his parents always made it very clear that sports weren't the plan for him. His mother was deathly afraid of contact sports being that she lost her brother to a neck injury from football, and his father managed to shit on everything Jesse was interested in period, always telling him to save himself the embarrassment; that he wouldn't make it anyway.

Before Jesse was adopted by his current parents, he lived in a boys home from the time he was five up until he was 12 years old. He played soccer with a few of the other kids whenever they were allowed to visit one of the abandoned fields. He loved the game and the feeling that it gave him when he played. Six years later and the burden of not being able to play still lingered around in him, as well as the fact that his father never even gave him the chance to show him that he could do something right.

He sat in the driveway of his house toying with the neon green slip of paper. Finally he sighs, growing tired of the bright colored thing, crumbling it with his fist and lodging into the trash can on his way into the house.

"You're late." His father announces as soon as Jesse steps foot in the doorway.

"I-um." He stutters, looking for a reasonable excuse to give him.

"Cut the shit and spit it out, Jesse." He says, growing annoyed with Jesse's inability to form his words.

"I lost track of the time, dad."

"Bullshit. You had to pick your little sister up from school today and all you can say is you lost track of time?" He slams his fist down on the countertop causing Jesse to flinch.

"I'm supposed to get Ava on Thursday." He knew it was Thursday that he had to get Ava, his mother had mentioned it all week long.

Suddenly, Jesse's dad rises from his seat at the kitchens island and to where he stood. "You calling me a liar, boy?"

"No I'm not calling you a liar, all I'm saying is today wasn't my day." He mutters.

Grabbing a fistful of his t-shirt, Jesse's father stares down at him with anger. Jesse closes his eyes and he waits. The door opens and his father halts, releasing Jesse's shirt from his fist and back away from the boy.

"Jesse, Jesse!" Ava runs through the wooden floors with her arms wide out for her big brother.

Shaking off the terror that hid within him, Jesse pretends everything is normal for Ava's sake, picking her small body up from the ground and twirling her around.

"How was day care today little lady?"

He looks at his mother, who is too involved in her phone to notice the pain that made itself at home in his eyes. She pats his back and starts for the stairs of the house, chatting about a big endorsement deal of a certain company.

"It was so much fun, we had popcorn and pizza and we watched Finding Nemo!" She says with excitement and he smiles watching her big brown eyes brighten as she fills him in on her eventful day.

The only time Jesse found peace in this mess of a home was when he was with his three siblings. Although none of them were actually biologically related (except for the twins), Jesse always felt nothing but a real connection when he was with them. Ava, Connor, and Christian were the reason he hadn't officially moved away for good. He'd been saving for a while now but he couldn't imagine leaving them with such careless people. A mother who was more involved with work than if her shoes were matching and a abusive father with so much built up aggression about not finding a job that he'd take it out on his son.

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⏰ Last updated: Apr 29, 2017 ⏰

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