We Are Free

Untold Stories

Zac wants us to meet Chloe so they are coming over. They are bringing Zane with them. They have gotten close in a very short period of time. We get up and get dressed. Halo puts on a shirt and jean shorts.
I just put on some shorts and Emily puts on a crop top and shorts. Andrew just wears shorts as well. We put some extra chairs out back on the lawn and I set the sprinkler up for the kids to play with. We sit out back and wait for them.
Finally I get a text saying that they are in the drive way.
"Hey," Zac says as he rounds the corner holding Zane in his car seat. I get up and hug him. I take Zane out of his car seat and hold him. Chloe comes up and introduces herself. We sit down and start talking.
     "How long have you two been together?" Chloe asks me.
     "A year in September." I say. She nods her head.
     "You guys live together?" She asks me.
    "Yeah, we have known each other since I was 11 and I am 17 now." I say. "Plus, once I got hurt she moved in to help me because she basically already lived here."
     "Hurt?"
I stand up and run my finger over the scar under my ribs. "I was stabbed back in February." I say. She already knows who did it because Zac also cleared that up right away.
     "Is that the only one?" She asks me.
     "No. I have small ones all over my back but those go away with time." I say. She nods her head. I sit back down and we talk for a while. Emily comes to me in jean shorts and a bikini top.
"Can we have a popsicle?"
"I don't care, you know how to get them." I say and she goes inside.
"Are you sure she isn't your daughter?" Chloe asks me.
"Yeah, I know she is my carbon copy, so is Andrew." He comes to me.
"Speak of the devil." Halo says and he laughs. We laugh at him. He makes grabbing hands at me and I put him on my lap. Emily comes back and hands him a popsicle with one in her mouth.
"Do you guys want one?" I ask. "Halo makes them and they are amazing." I say.
"Sure." Chloe says. Halo gets up and goes to the kitchen. Emily and Andrew sit in a chair.
"Hey, if you aren't playing in the water go shut it off." I tell Emily. She hands me her popsicle and goes to shut the sprinkler off. Halo comes back and hands us popsicles. I take a bite of Emily's and she takes it. She looks at me. She stomps her foot.
"Jason!" She says and I laugh at her. Halo laughs to. She never calls me Jason. I let her take a bite of mine and she goes on her way.
"Jason?" Chloe says and I can hear the confusion.
"Yeah, Jace is a nickname. My full first name is Jason. I have been called Jace since the day I was born." I say and she nods her head.
"What's you middle name?" She asks me.
"Mathew." I say and she nods her head. "My name was going to be Emily Marie, but that didn't work."
     "Why?" She asks.
     "Well, my mom thought she was having a girl. Low and behold she had a boy. Then she had a girl. So I am Jace and Emily is what my name was going to be."
     "That's funny." She says.
     "Oh you should see the video." I say. We all start laughing.
"How did you and Halo meet?" Chloe asks me. Halo has gone to help the kids.
      "We met at the park. I was 11 and she was 14. I was on a swing alone. I haven't met Zac yet. She was with a couple friends and they were playing basketball. She made a long shot and missed it. It hit the back board and I caught it. We have been friends ever since up until we got together."
"What about Zac?" We all start laughing.
"That is an interesting story." I say.
With Halo in a different school, I manly just sit alone at lunch. So I grab my tray and sit down at a table. I pull my phone out to answer a text from my mom.
She needs to know if I can watch Emily for about an hour after basketball practice so she can go to the store. Emily is only a year old but she isn't that hard to watch. I say sure and open my bottle of juice.
"Um, can I sit with you?" A kid I have never seen before comes up to me and he had short black hair, he looked a little old to. Maybe he was in a higher grade I am in my first year of middle school.
"Yeah, sure." I say scooting over a little bit. He sets his tray on the table and sits down.
"What's your name?" I ask him.
"Zachariah, but everyone just calls me Zac." He says with a smile.
"I'm Jason, but everyone calls me Jace." I say. I shake his hand.
"I'm the new kid, today is my first day." He says.
"Cool, what grade are you in?" I ask him.
"7th." He says. "I got held back a year because I'm not that good at math and the school I was at didn't offer any help so my mom moved me here.
"Well, maybe I could help you. I am really good at math." I say.
"Okay," he says.
"Do you have any siblings?" I ask.
"Um I have a sister. She is older than me though.
"I have a sister too, but she is only a year old."
"That's cool." He says nodding his head.
      "Um, it's Friday. What if you came over. I have to go to basketball practice, then watch my sister for about an hour. Maybe you could sleep over." I say. He nods his head and I call my mom.
      "Mine said yes." Zac says.
      "Mine to." I say. "You can come over around 4:30. I say to him. He nods his head as the bell rings to get to class.
       "I did however find out that he was a hoe but he was really good with kids, so if I ever need someone to watch them, as much as I don't give him credit I trust him." I say.
      "Oh I know he was a hoe."
      "Did he tell you that he was the reason the boys and girls got separated in gym class." I say and we all start laughing.
      "It's true, man I was a hoe." He says and we laugh again.
      "Well I have a question." Chloe says. "It's not about how Zac is a hoe. I want to know what would have happened if CPS came for you."
      "I have that all planned. Either Zac, Halo, or her mom will adopt us, then sign off saying we can live on our own. Well maybe not Halo now that we are together."
       "That wouldn't go to well." Halo says.
      "No, but they make the doctors appointments and sign the papers. Once I turn 18 it will all sift onto me." I say, and to Chloe that makes sense. I can see it. No matter what happens I have our back covered. We decide to go for lunch. We get the kids dressed. We go to a restaurant and order our food.
      "Who are you?" Emily asks Chloe.
      "I am Zac's girlfriend." Chloe says.
      "Zac has a girlfriend, since when, he just takes us to the park and picks up girls." She says. Chloe just looks at me.
"I said I trusted him, I didn't say that he was a good influence." We start laughing. We get our food and eat. We go home and Zac takes Chloe home. When we get home we finish packing. The whole time I think of memories back when times were good. When times were easy. The first night Zac stayed over.
Zac will be here any minute as I shake a toy rattle at Emily. She smiles and laughs at the sound.
"Honey, when will Zac get here?" My mom's voice says to me as I hand Emily her toy rattle.
"Any minute now." I say and pick Emily up. I hear a nock on the door and put her on my hip pulling her shirt down she shakes her rattle. She laughs at the sound as I open the door.
"Hi." Zac says smiling.
"Hey." I say to him. He comes in and my mom comes to the door. The greet each other. I take him to my room. He sets his things down. I have a bunk bed. We go downstairs and my mom grabs her keys.
"Your dad will be home soon, I have to run to the store. I will be back soon." She says. "Behave, and watch your sister." She says.
"Okay mom." She leaves. Zac looks at me.
"She is busy. My dad works a lot and so does she. It will only be about a half hour. Emily isn't that hard to watch either." I say. She is still on my hip and she shakes her rattle again before handing it to me.
I take it from her and she just sits there. I haven't even changed yet. I am still in my basketball uniform.
"What do you like to do for fun." I ask him.
"Um, I like frisbee." He says.
"Okay, there is not much we can do until my dad gets home." Emily starts throwing a fit. And hits my shoulder and my chest.
"Do you need a nap?" I ask her.
"No!" She says to me. I take her to the kitchen and get her some juice. Zac and I play some video games while we wait for my dad to get home.
We stayed up until 3:00 in the morning that night. We have been inseparable since. He has helped me with everything. Halo has to. They have both gotten hurt trying to help me. I remember that day well.
"Ace! Ace!" Emily's small voice calls from the hallway. I go to her and pick her up. She is once again in tears from the nightmares that haunt her every time she closes her baby blue eyes.
She is only the small age of 4 and yet they never go away. I hold her close as she cries on my shoulder. Checking me to make sure I am okay. I go to the couch and sit down.
"How would you like to go stay with Halo for a little bit?" I ask her. I wipe her tears from her cheeks as she nods her head.
"Okay, I just got off the phone with her. Zac is coming by to. He will take Andrew." The truth is Halo asked to spend the day with Emily but things have gotten so bad I asked her to take Emily for a little bit and Zac said he will take Andrew. 
I go back upstairs and Andrew is asleep in his play pen. I lay her in my bed. I pack each of them a bag and once I finish I hear the slamming of a door. I know who it is. My dad shouldn't be home for another hour.
He comes through the house and comes to our room. He opens the door rudely with a harsh slam so that it wakes Andrew up. He is drunk and I can tell. He smells of cigarettes and alcohol.
His eyes are bloodshot and he is wobbling as he walks. He forgets why he comes in the room but Emily is already crouching in the corner hiding in the blanket. I quickly grab her.
I place her in the play pen with Andrew and throw a thick sheet over it. Now to lead him out of the room.
     "Jason!" He says his words slurred. I keep walking.
     "Jason! I'm talking to you." He says to me making me walk further. I make it to the living room before he grabs my shoulder and spins me around.
He shoves me on the ground. Beating me is the only thing he can do drunk. I hear the door open and in comes Halo. Next thing I know she is on the ground.
My dad hits her once and I get to him. Zac comes in and sees Halo holding her side. Zac jumps him as well. Halo doesn't get up. I go to her once my dad is on the ground to disoriented to know what hit him.
I pick her up. She is holding her ribs. Zac has blood running down his temple. I pick Halo up and carry her to the bathroom. I set her on the counter.
     "You okay?" I ask her.
     "Yeah." She says but I know she isn't.
     "Let me see." I say to her and she shakes her head no. I give her a look at she rolls her eyes before lifting her shirt. One side of her ribs are already bruised. I grab the tape and wrap it around her body until the bruise is covered.
I grab a wash cloth and clean Zac's cut. I put some tape over it and look at them.
     "Don't ever do that again." I say.
     "What?" They both ask.
     "Try to play hero." I say to them.
"He was attacking you!" Zac says.
"I don't care, it's my battle not yours and I'm not going to let you get her because of me. Next time just walk out or grab the kids and leave."
"Do you want us just to leave you here to get beat?" Halo ask me.
    "Well, yeah I am not going to let you fight my battle. Just take them and leave before he wakes up." I say.
It killed them to do that but they knew they were not going to win. It wasn't their battle and I wasn't going to let them get hurt. So many memories. So much has happened yet reliving these memories is probably one of my favorites.