Away From Home

Prolouge

"Get the fuck out! Don't bring yo bitch ass back to my house"

This was just one of many arguments my parents had. One minute their Bonnie & Clyde and the next minute they were at eachother's necks. I rolled my eyes just at the thought of their rollercoster of a relationship. I kept swatting the flys out of my face. It was the begining of June so there was about to be a storm of flys everywhere. I saw my stepdad walk up the stairs as if he weren't listening to shit my mother had to say. Soon my mother trailed behind him as if she were a lost puppy following her owner.

I walked of the porch as I listened to the soft moans of my mother. It was like they didn't even care. They go from arguing to fucking within a matter of minutes.

"Hay Ling Ling!" I turned around to Chris laughing at my expression.

Chris was one of the kids from around the block. He always called me Ling Ling because when I laugh I look Asian. I found it annoying at times but Chris will be Chris. I have known Chris since I was four. Chris was very protective over me. We always rode the bus to school, walked home toghether, and occasionally hung out on Saturdays. Chris was only two years older than me and at times he felt like a big brother I've always wanted.

"Boy shut up. But give me two dollars please the ice cream truck is coming!"

"Oh hell no! You can't even properly tell me hello and you have the nerve to ask for money!"

I gave him a big hug until he was at the point of pushing me in the streets. We collected our ice cream and sat on the curve. We talked about everything that happend this past week including him thinking he caught pink eye from his girlfriend. He was 16 which left me to be 14. Chris told me I couldn't have a boyfriend until I was 35. Which made no type of since to me. My birthday was next week and Chris told me he planned a surprise but for now he gave me a gold ring with an opal birthstone placed in the middle. All I could do was smile. Afterwards Chris walked me home and scampered into the streets.

Two days later I was woken up to my dad cursing to the top off his lungs. I pushed my door open to reveal my mother shaking her head with tears running down her face at the bottom of the stairs. The front door was wide open and I could see a huddle of neighbors scattered around my lawn.

"Baby..maybe you should go back upstairs" I pushed past my mother to go see what all the fuss was about.

When I reached the porch I could see red & blue flashing lights in the distance. Everybody turned their heads toward me & quickly returned them to the crime scene. My dad kept his eyes locked on me, filled with sorrow.

"What happened?" I asked.

He didn't say anything. He just looked at me as if he were telling me something inside of his head.

"Baby.." He stopped like he couldn't go on "They found Chris dead." It was like my whole world came crashing down. I felt as if somebody snatched my heart out of my chest. I was just talking to him earlier. We were just sitting and laughing now all of a sudden he's dead! I don't believe it. I kept telling myself. I twisted my ring around my finger thinking about previous times I had with Chris.

"No..NO!" I broke down into my dad's arms. The police cars drove down the street leaving the crime scene. I glanced into the car to see a white heavy set man with a double chin looking back at us. He quickly transferred his eyes back on the road. I read 'DPD' over and over.

To me this was nothing but shit. Nothing more nothing less. Shit people. Dallas was nothing but shit to me. I couldn't wait to get out of here. Away from the drugs, the guns, the gangs. All of it. I was fourteen years old with the ambition of a determined worker. And I'll be damned if that getss me nowhere.

The drugs came from my stepdad whom I've happened to know since I was three. He had multiple trap houses around Dallas. I guess my mom wanted to hold him down but I found it quite stupid. I was so used to hearing gun shots that I physically prepared myself. I even moved my bed from in front of the window. Gangs didn't mean much to me. Where I lived there were so many bloods it was ridiculous. Chris wasn't a real gangbanger but he threw B's up occasionally. I laughed at the memory when he tried to teach me a blood handshake. A silent tear escaped from my eye.

Now I knew I had to leave if it wasn't the last thing I did.