Gardina Verena Holton is the late Deshuan Dupree Holton sister, who has had a long list of problems starting when she got pregnant at 17 to a man who later got arrested, all the way to losing her only brother, to being completely hooked on drugs and...
I sighed taking the kettle of hot boiling water off the stove and pouring it into a coffee mug. "Would you like some?" I asked Marshall who was sitting at the dining table looking completely lost in his thoughts.
"No." He said simply.
I sighed putting a tea bag into my mug while stirring in some sugar to make it taste just a bit sweeter. I sat across from the troubled young man trying to see where his thoughts were, but it was hard to read him. His eyes looked vacant as he sat with both his elbows on the table his hands held together as he rested his chin on them.
"This isn't your fault you know?" I said after a moment of silence.
"It is." He said.
"No, this is all on Gardina, anytime something becomes to much for her to handle, she either ignores it or runs away from it, which isn't how I raised her at all." I breathed.
"I'm just worried about her." He said his voice portraying his worry as he ran one of his hands through his hair in frustration.
"Me too, but we gotta trust she'll be alright." I said.
He said nothing so I took another sip of my tea wondering myself where my daughter had run off too, and if she was alright where ever she was.
"You know, Gardina wasn't always like this, she used to be such a sweet and smart little girl, always worrying about others and constantly figuring out ways to help people. After her father died, she really began to spiral, she was a lot more grumpy and agitated almost over any little thing, and basically stopped talking to me all together for quite some time, The only person she really talked to and connected with was her brother Proof." I said reminiscing.
"I knew Gardina had been dipping into drugs and I tried to keep a lock on her with it, but she always found a way to sneak out and get them, Then of course you know after Proof passed..she got even worse." I said.
*Flash Back*
"Gardina open this damn door!" I yelled pounding on her door from the outside hallway.
"I'm good!" She yelled back ignoring me completely.
"Gardina I ain't playing!" I yelled.
Just then the door whooshed open a fog of smoke instantly filling my nostrils and clouding up the hallway.
"Are you seriously smoking in my house?" I asked her angrily knowing she was probably to glazed over to even comprehend what I was saying.
"You need to chill mom." She laughed taking a puff out of her blunt.
"No YOU need to get off your lazy behind, and start being a mother to your child, You know Zuriel had a school play yesterday and you didn't even show up, probably at the dope house getting drugs from that Melvin character." I frowned deeply.
"I'll just buy her something and apologize later, it's no big deal." She shrugged.
"Dina, I understand your grieving and upset about Proof Dying but you really need to snap out of it, You can't just abandon your daughter." I sighed not knowing if I was making a break through with her or not.
"Look, I'm over Proof, now why don't you leave me alone?" She groaned turning around and flopping onto her bed.
"Because your acting like an absentee mom!" I shouted.
"Look can't you just mind your own business!?" She scoffed tiredly scratching her behind while pulling the covers up on her.
"That is so un lady like!" I scolded.
"Whatever." She yawned. "Please close my door on your way out." She instructed.
-End Of Flash Back-
"That girl is so ungrateful at times." I hissed. "Marshall i'm sorry she's acting this way."
"I just hope she ain't out there doing something stupid like loosing the little sobriety she's achieved." He sadly said.
"You really care about Gardina don't you?" Beginning to see just how stressed he was over her disappearance.
"Yeah, we've basically grown up together, she's the mother of my kid but then again..you already knew that, thanks for keeping it hidden and letting me see Claira still while Gardina was in jail." He thanked.
"It was hard keeping it from her, but I knew you'd tell her when you were ready, but I'm not quite sure how your going to keep Claira a secret from the public, don't paparazzi constantly follow you?" I wondered.
"I don't have a choice, the public can't find out about Claira at least not for a long time." He sighed, "Doing an illegal blood test to determine rather or not she was my daughter is one thing, but the public finding out is a whole other." He explained.
"I'm just wondering how she's gonna handle it.." He said thoughtfully.
"Handle what?" I asked looking at him a bit bemused as to what he was speaking of.
"Finding out that I adopted Claira, and waved all her parental rights." He said suddenly.
"You didn't." I gasped.
"Oh but I did, Aretha you and I both know she isn't fit to have any rights over that kid, I am her father therefore I should have full custody of her, So I went to court presented my case, showed them the Proof Claira's my child, then they wanted Gardina to appear in court to agree with this sudden change of parental ownership, but of course she couldn't since she was in jail, so the court immediately granted me custody over Claira, with you being her temporary Guardian." He explained a hint of guilt washing across his face.
"Marshall..Doing illegal blood test is one thing, but getting custody of a kid over false pretenses is a whole other!" I snapped knowing this could go wrong very quickly.
"I know...I know..Everything is really messed up."
Gardina's P.O.V
As I walked down the dark streets of Detroit every negative emotion you could possibly have probably went through me, I was angry, hurt, sad, confused, depressed, scared, bitter, and down right sorry that I even thought for a second if I got sober my life would be any better.
It still sucked.
How in the world did Marshall get Claira under her name!?
"Stupid bastard." I mumbled angrily as I continued to walk to the location I was told to go.
I was approaching this shady looking warehouse that was a little ways away from the city and overall pretty secluded, it was the perfect place for all sorts of illegal drugs and other sorts of criminal activity.
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As I walked to warehouse, I approached the door and knocked on it a few times not getting a reply back until I knocked for the fourth time and the door flew open with a very big gruff looking man looking down upon me. "What you want?" He grumbled.
