Finding Home in Redemption

Chapter Twenty-Two

Brennan (Aaron), sixteen years old

The moment my mother conceived me, she hadn't wanted me, or so I was told by my case worker. I always wondered what it was she did or didn't see when she looked at me that made the decision so easy for her.

From birth, I bounced from foster home to foster home, and I was currently with a family of seven. Other than Will, who was their biological son, I was the oldest and therefore I was Will's right-hand man.

Will had been a part of this process for almost an entire year, and since he turned eighteen a few weeks before, he needed me. If the police caught him with this, it would be his third offense, and he feared the judge wouldn't go as easy on him. I didn't realize then that Will was using me, I just knew that for the first time in a long time, someone needed and wanted me around, so I was there.

At only fifteen years old I had been involved in an accident that took the life of a young girl. Since I was brought up on different charges than Will, I never got to be in court with him to see what happened but my lawyer said he was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and received fifteen years in prison. When he tried to throw me under the bus, it only served to hurt him since I didn't have any priors on my record.

I deserved more. I had nightmares every single night of the woman that came to my sentencing and sat in the back crying with a boy that looked to be the same age as Will beside her. I tried my hardest to pay attention to everything that was happening, everything the judge was telling me, but it was hard. I heard references to some drugs I had in my pocket, and he asked me questions about what my intentions had been that night. I was completely honest. I told him about Will asking me to help since he was considered an adult, and how I wanted to be an important member of the family, I was staying with. I told him about the two other times I had gone with Will and dropped off the same amount. I said the places changed every single time and we didn't know where to take it until the phone rang and someone told us where to go. Every single detail I could remember of what had happened those nights and where we went came tumbling out of my mouth.

I became a rat, and I didn't even care. Will hadn't thought about me when he told the cop to search me, so I didn't think about him when I told them all I knew. The only difference between us was, I wasn't malicious about it.

I remember my lawyer, after the final sentencing, telling me I got off easy. I would spend six months in a Juvenile Delinquent Center and then spend another six months on house arrest, with whatever foster family would take me in.

Every time I felt like my life sucked, I would close my eyes and think about the girl's life that ended. Maybe I wasn't driving, but I was a part of that night. That night was a permanent stain on my soul, and there was no washing it off.

When I was released, I was taken to a new foster home three hours away from Taylorsville. The drive was long, and I slept the entire way. We finally arrived at a small country house in the middle of a huge field. I noticed the horses running along with the car, and when I looked at the house again, I saw the police cruiser. Really? I thought. They had to accompany me to my foster home like the large black ankle bracelet wasn't enough embarrassment.

"Why is there a cop here?" I asked.

"That's Phil's. He's your new guardian." Tabitha, my case worker, saw the horror on my face and quickly cut into my thoughts. "Brennan, they asked for you. They followed your story even after the news stopped, and they asked the state to consider placing you with them. It took almost two months to get it approved. They're excited for you to be here."

It sounded more like a nightmare to me. In my sixteen years, I came to realize people only wanted you if they knew they could get something out of you. It was easier to sit and wait for them to disappear than it was to get attached and have them walk away.