2Summary - Downtown girl with a hard life, uptown boy with a rough life. Their brothers are caught in the middle. Her mom's dead, her dad's an ass. His dad left, and his moms a bitch. Good times. NOT INCEST!
ONE
A young girl stood on the broken corner of a worn down street. Her palms were cupped in front of her as she pleaded passersby for their loose change. Her long red hair was tangled and in need of washing, framing her pale, upturned face. Dark blue eyes flashed angrily as another person passed without even glancing at her frail form. She watched the people pass her by. Most of them looked respectable, wearing suits and trendy clothes. The girl, Maggie, was suddenly drowning in old memories.
There had been a time when she wasn't living on the streets. She had been happy once. She had a secure family that loved her. They lived in an apartment in a respectful neighborhood. Everything had been fine. Then her mother became very ill while pregnant with Maggie's youngest brother, James. The doctors had induced the labor, James was born, slightly is, but would quickly recover. Maggie's mom, however, had perished in the process. After the burial, their wonderful father had become withdrawn and quick to anger. He began drinking heavily, and lost his job because of it. This only led to more drinking and rash behavior. He would yell at his children, mostly the infant, James, blaming him. Maggie became the mother figure for her younger brothers, protecting them both from their fathers wrath. There was only one night thought that Maggie remembered clearly.
Their father had filled himself with alcohol and was laying on the couch, trying to watch T.V. when James began crying for his bottle. Naturally, this threw their father into a fit of anger, and he stomped towards his youngest child. John shouted for Maggie, knowing the danger his father intended. His cries were cut short though because his father backhanded him. A thump could be heard throughout the apartment as the child, only five at the time, hit the wall from the force of the blow. Maggie, who had been in the kitchen at the time ran quickly to johns side. Realizing that he was no longer in danger, she raced to stand between her father and James.
Sneering coldly at his only daughter, he raised his hand in warning. Her icy blue eyes locked with is almost black ones. He struck her hard across her left check. Sending her sprawling on the hard floor. Eyes wide with fear, she jumped up and positioned herself between the two again, this time her back was to her father as she crouched protectively over her brother. Undaunted and egger to take out his aggressions, her father began hitting her back, knocking the wind from her with each blow. This made it impossible to breathe, much less scream because of the pain he was emitting. John, however was not lacking the precious gas, and le out yell after yell. Their father paid no mind to him, but struck his daughters back with even more force then before. Somehow she managed to stay conscious of the whole event, until her father was finally pulled from her, and she blacked out.
Blinking, Maggie was brought back to the present. With a new determination, she began putting on her "money act" where she would limp around, whimpering and pleading for money. This got a few more peoples attention. Her short attention span, however, was quickly caught by something eyes. Or, rather, someone eyes. A middle aged woman w all but dragging her child across the street, all the while calling him worthless and ugly. Another wave of despair clutched at Maggie as she remembered being in a few situations not much different than that.
The next thing she remembered was being in an adoption center, with her two brothers sitting closely to her. They had been stuck in that place for a year. Being put on parade, desperately hoping that someone would take them from that place. Truth was, though. That no one wanted o add all three of the children to their home. So they sat and waited. Finally the day came when a couple decided to 'try them out.'
They had seemed nice at first. They lived in an actual house instead of an apartment, and the children got actual beds instead of the cots that they had become accustomed to over the past few months. It wasn't long, though, before the children found all this great stuff was only to compensate for the behavior they would be receiving from their new foster parents. Never was there a kind word said. The house was filled with yelling and insults. Eventually one of the neighbors noticed and called social services.
The MacKenzie family was once again at the adoption center. Realizing that people would be more likely to adopt her brothers if she wasn't there, Maggie ran away. They put up a search, but lucky for her, she wasn't found. She heard not long after that a nice couple had permanently adopted her brothers. That had been four years ago. She had not seen her brothers since.
The clatter of change hitting cement brought Maggie back to the present. A wide smile on her face, she came to a conclusion. She would pay her brothers a visit.