Family Is More Than Blood.

(2)

"Hey, babe. Hey guys" my boyfriend, Joey, says.

"Hey, Joey" I smile.

"Hey Joe" the boys say.

"Oh, did you guys hear about the new teacher?" Joey asks.

"No" we all say.

"There's this new teacher coming in to teach editing and filming. Apparently he's a really famous YouTuber"

"Do you know who?" I ask.

"Not yet"

"Lets go to class! I wanna see who the teacher is!" Tyler says. All of our first hour is the one with the new teacher. We all get our stuff then go to the class. We sit down and wait for the bell to ring. 

"Wanna come over tonight?" Joey asks me.

"I would love too but my mom has something really important to talk to us about" I say.

"Just ditch your family and come hang with me"

"Joey, I love you but no"

"Come on, baby"

"She said no, Joey" Tyler says.

"Mind your own business, Ty" Joey says.

"Joe, what's up with you today?" I ask.

"Nothing" he says. The door opens and the teacher walks in. I continue doodling in my notebook without looking at the teacher.

"Oh my God! It's Sam Golbach!" a girl in my class squeals. I look up and see my Uncle. He's been in Kenya with my Uncle Zac and Uncle Elton so I haven't seen him in like a month. I get up from my seat and hug him.

"Hey Em" he says. 

"What...the hell? Emma, you can't just hug random famous people!" Cassidy says with her annoying, nasally voice.

"I'm her uncle" Sam says. Cassidy face goes blank then flushes with embarrassment. 

~<>~<>~

"Sup bitch" Nicole says.

"Hey hoe" I smile.

"Rumor has it your uncle is the new teacher" 

"He is"

"Sweet. Your coming over after school? We can fuck" she says with a wink.

"I love the offer but I gotta go home after school. My parents are telling us about their past"

"Oh cool. Tomorrow then?"

"Sure"  

Nicole has been my best friend since we were 8. We have a very....strange friendship. We joke about being together but we're not serious. 

~<>~<>~

"Ok. Tell us" Tyler says. We got home an hour ago and now we're sitting on the couch waiting for our parents story.

"My dad abused me, my mom, and uncle Jeremy until I was 8. When I was 8 my dad murdered my mom. Jer changed and took over as my dad, abuse and all. He went to jail and I went to an orphanage. Every year I got a new family but they sent me back. One day I went out to the park and met Grandma Devyn and Grandpa Corey, your Uncle Sam, and your dad. A few months later I caught your dad making out with Shea and I was really hurt. Later that day Colby found out that I liked him and he kissed me. I ran away that night, got caught up in prostitution and drugs. Your dad and Brennen found me 2 weeks later. I was pregnant and I made the decision to abort the baby. A few months later I met my brother and sisters, Aunt Zoey and Hannah and Uncle Sawyer, that night I had to go back to the orphanage and on the way the leader of the gang I was a part of, Rico, sent his right hand man to get me because someone called the police on him. He wanted to know who it was so he tortured and raped me to get that information but I didn't have it. When I was almost dead he dumped he off at the suicide bridge and luckily, Elton, Sam, Corey, Amanda, and your dad found me. A few weeks later Rico came back to kill me but was unsuccessful, he's been in jail for almost 15 years. That day I had found out that Shea was pregnant so Colby and I got in a fight but when I was scared because Rico was in the house, Colby was there for me the whole time. He took me to the doctors and I found out I was pregnant with Emma. It was a miracle because my baby survived through 1 month of torture and 4 surgeries. When I found out that my baby was a girl I named her after my mom. My mom was my favorite person in the world and when she died I was heartbroken. Em, your name is so special to me. Ok um....oh yeah. Shea, Colby, and I lived together until you 3 were born. The day Shea went into labor was the day that Uncle Hayden decided to leave Rico's gang no matter what it took. He almost died and it broke mine and Uncle Aaron's heart. I think it was a week after we found out Hayden was gonna live it was time for Shea to go to Japan to take of her mom. She promised Tyler and Jackson that she would come back as soon as possible and that she loved you both so much. She does love you but she broke her promise. She has decided to stay in Japan for a while longer" Mom explains. Ok, wow. This is too much to process.

"You're just kidding right?" I ask.

"No" Dad says.

"Holy shit" Tyler says.

"That was a lot...." Jackson says.

"Yeah. It was really hard to live. For years I had anorexia and self-harmed" Mom says. How do I even react to all of this?