1 Chapter 1

See my life started off good. Came into the world to beautiful, loving, and young parents excited for this next step in their lives! Evan and Trisha Hagen were both 22 years old, when they had me. My mom, well she was more of a flower power child. You know what I mean? Free love, peace and a whole lotta weed. She had dark hair with eyes that seriously looked like someone stuck emeralds in her eye sockets. When she smiled her whole face lit up and those eyes would sparkle so bright. She had this way of walking that looked like she could take of and fly at any moment, always kind of swaying in the wind. She smelled like a warm summer breeze late in the evening as the sun is about to set. She was beautiful but also very uhhh passionate about what she believed in.

Then theres my dad, he was raised military style. Make your bed when you get up, shoot with both eyes open, eat fast or dont eat at all. He was rugged but clean kept. He had a bread because mom asked but he never grew his hair out. Blonde hair with brown eyes, never made any sense to me genetically speaking considering both my partneral grandparents are dark hair blue eyes. He was a man who made you feel like the safest person in the world with just a hug. He was a big man 6'2" 350lbs and all 5th generation military man. As strong, tough, and overall badass as he was, he was equally loving, kind, and gentle.

They were an unlikely pairing from the start. But I loved their story, in fact it was my bedtime story almost every night. I loved when Daddy told the story, I still remember it. "It was love at first sight." He always started this way even if the rest of the story changed here and there. "I was stationed down somewhere in South America, covert op. I was just to stand guard at a fence and for the first few days it was an uneventful job. Then bursting through the trees like a pack of wild hogs came this gaggle of woman all yelling and shouting. There were so many different girls, speaking so many different languages and they were yelling something about free something I'm not sure because all I could focus on was the woman in the front leading them on. Your mother. She had a fierceness I'd only seen in warriors, but her eyes! Ah those eyes shone so bright I was sure you could see them in the dead of night. Her dark wavy hair blew freely in the wind and I swear the sun was putting colors in her hair right then and there. When she turned those eyes on me I knew right then I needed that woman in my life."

My mom would butt in here saying something like "I knew right then and there you would be a pain in my ass, or I thought you were the weakest link to break in."

To which he would beam at her and say something gross like "I wish you would've charged at me. I wouldve swept you up and away right there and thatd be all she wrote." He'd wink, she'd giggle and blush a little, and I'd pretend to be grossed out, but wait for him to get back to their story. They'd share a quick kiss and he would dive back in.

"Anyway so here comes this hoarde of woman all hootin' and hollerin' bout wanting something free and while your mother was a sight to behold I still had a job to do. So my men and I gathered at the gate just trying to get these woman to calm down.... I've got to tell you there is no funnier sight then to see a bunch of tough old military men being run up one side and down the other by a bunch of little women. Ha these women were saying things that had some of the men blanching. All while trying to get into the gate. Which reminded me I hadn't seen your mother even though she was right out front in the beginning. Where did she go? I looked through the group but I couldn't see her, or the red head that wasnt to far behind her."

"Aunt Theresa" I would always yell.

Dad would roll his eyes with a hint of mockery. "Yes Aunt Theresa. Man is she a handful. You know I could tell you a thing or two about your "Aunt" then maybe you wouldn't like her as much."

"Oh hunny you could make up whatever stories you wanted about her Aunt and she would still worship the ground she walked on." My mom would call out no matter where she was in the house. "Isnt that right Cesile?"

"I love my Aunt Theresa! She is the bestest best Aunt ever and my best friend!" I would yell back

"Ugh I know she is. Darn that woman!" Dad would say but he never meant it. He would pat my head with a smile and we would continue on. "So I broke off from the group looking for these woman and it didnt take me long. Down about 30 feet from the was your Aunt and Mother climbing up and over this 20 foot fence. I was actually impressed that in the short amount of time they had, they were already clearing the top. I had thought about scaring them back over but then I wouldn't get to talk to that beautiful woman with the coloring changing hair." He'd wink and smile while remembering. "I allowed her and your aunt to make it all the way down before I came out of the shadows. I didn't saw anything but as your mom saw me, she smiled. But not in a cute way, like a feral cat would before pouncing on its prey. Without warning she jumped and tackled me to the ground. Allowing Theresa to make a break for it. While she had caught me off guard I quickly took action and flipped around, grabbing your mother I picked her up flung her over my shoulder and we began to chase your Aunt. Now Theresa was a slippery little devil and every time I thought I was closing in she would jump around and I'd lose her again. Your mother was slowing me down to much. NOT THAT SHE WEIGHED TO MUCH I JUST WASNT STRONG ENOUGH!" He would always yell so my mother could hear.

"I had to put her down somewhere she couldn't get out and get in the way. Luckily there was an old freight truck to my right. I grabbed my cuffs and cuffed her to the back. I told her to stay put then I went after your Aunt. Without your mom it didnt take me to long to catch up to your Aunt. But she sure was quick on her feet and then before I knew it she jumped onto my shoulders like some circus trick, sprung up flipped around and landed on top of a shed that happened to be there. Then like a samurai in a movie she began to scale the wall free hand. I was stunned frozen for the second time that night by these to little 5 foot nothing women. There was no way I could follow after her so I called for back up. I told them the there was one cuffed to the truck and another scaling the side of the building. Only one man broke free from the woman at the gate. He was gonna stop by the truck first and check on the first one and then hightell to me so he could scale the wall after the other one, but when he got to the truck your mother was gone! He called in to say she was missing but he was coming to my location. As I waited I heard something approaching that was way to light to be my man. I turned around just in time to catch the flying squirrel that happened to be a woman mid fall. As we tumbled to ground I heard a high pitched shriek and saw red hair falling at a fast rate. I got up, threw your mother off and ran as fast as I could. As she fell I thought to myself I wasnt going to make it, I pushed harder and harder. Just as the red head was about to hit the shed, WHOOSH, came my man from outta the trees. He tucked her into him, and did a forward roll when hitting the ground. Had it of been any other man the impact would of killed them but as luck would have it, it was the biggest guy in my platoon."

"Uncle Bronx!" I'd pipe in "Almost 7 feet tall. 300lbs of nothing but muscle. A warriors body covered in scars. Eyes that have seen hell and show hell with a single glance. A voice that booms and carries like thunder a storm. A smile that sends a shiver down your spine, because you know, everyone knows this man can crush your head like grape. POP! heheha"

"You know your description of your Uncle Bronx is really disturbing sounding with a child's voice, although accurate." With a smile he'd kiss my forehead and by now we are both snuggled on my bed. "Now I ran to check on both your Aunt and Uncle. They were covered in red I thought for sure it was blood. It was only the red mud they had fallen into. Now your mother wasnt far behind me and once she had gotten to where they had fallen I heard her speak for the first time. "Theresa oh my god Theresa are you okay?" Her voice was the sound of birds in the morning sweet and delicate, but the words coming out of her mouth matched nothing of the sweet sound. I'll never forget it for as long as I live when your tiny ass mother, all 5'2 120lbs walked up to Bronx and instead if thanking him started biting his head off. hahaha it is the funniest thing I have ever seen to this day. I'd never seen the man more terrified in his life!" My dad could never tell this part of the story without laughing so hard hed be wiping away tears. It does sound like a pretty comical sight tiny women vs big man and big man loses? I would always fall asleep here though. My dad's laughs rocking my head gently while I listened to his steady heartbeat. He'd continue on for awhile I suppose and in the morning I'd wake up tucked in nicely to my bed with the sound of my mom raping at my door.

I always thought it weird Dad never pick up the story where he left off but throughout the years I pieced it together. Dad laughed at mom for scaring Bronx. Mom decided never to talk to Dad again. But Theresa and Bronx fell in love. Mom and Dad where in the wedding and had to talk to each other. I'm guessing that after a drink or two talking got easier and bam on thing lead to another and 3 years after Aunt Theresa and Uncle Bronx got married I was born, exactly to the day. Now I should clear up that my aunt and uncle arent really my aunt and uncle, biologically. They're just my mom and dad best friends. We had a pretty small family. I had my maternal grandparents Chesop who where higher than a kite all the time and my paternal grandparents Hagen who, while they loved me lots, weren't very touchy feely. Both my parents were only children so no biological Aunts and Uncles for me. I was okay with that I had Aunt Theresa and Uncle Bronx after all. I did want a little brother though. Mom and dad tried to no avail. They said it was "gods plan" and in "gods hands".

I remember being so mad at god. My momma and Daddy where just as good as any other why shouldn't they have another baby? More specifically a baby brother. Then one day shortly after my 8th birthday my mom told me the news. I was going to be a big sister! Not only that but there was two! I was going to have two brothers! Our perfect family with a hippy mom and military dad, all the grandparents around, our dog Puppy (I named the dog dont judge) were going to welcome home two little boys. We had a big enough house with a good sized yard. I was going to show them how to make mud pies, and where to hid in the house to scare mom. How to make there beds just how daddy liked it, and the best way to hug the grandparents so you dont hurt them but can give them all the love. Being a big sister was going to be the best thing that ever happened!

The day came and we all went to the hospital. It was time! I was so excited I started jumping up and down in the car, I just couldn't sit still. I knew mom was hurting cause she kept yelling at my dad to drive faster and she never ever did that. Tell my dad to drive fast that is, she yelled a lot pretty much all the time. My mom had another contraction, yelled at my dad that it was all his fault, grabbed his leg and smiled through the pain at him. That was the first time I ever remember seeing love. It's also the last time I saw my momma.

Everything seemed to go super slow in an instance. I watched as my mother reached for me panic in eyes that had just held so much love. My father paled and his knuckles went white on the steering wheel, and he yelled "I'm sorry, I Lov" was all I heard before, I flew through the passenger side window my mother narrowly missing me. I saw the semi roll over the car. The sound of crushing medal was deafening. I flew above the wreckage what felt like hours as I watched everything from above. But what seemed to take days really took half of a minute. I landed in the ditch with a loud thud and heard several snapping noises like branches from a tree, there was no trees, I hit my head and went to sleep.

When I awoke I saw my grandparents and my Aunt.

"Wheres Mom and Dad?" I asked and I remember my voice not sounding right. I looked at my Aunt who had unshed tears in her eyes. I felt my heart race and the panic set in. I looked at Grandpa Hagen the man with 2 emotions happy or angry, he too had tears in his eyes.

"Celise." I could hear the pain in his voice, feel it to the depths of my soul. I felt hollow, empty, cold. Grandpa Hagen kept talking but I couldn't hear anything it just sounded like loud high pitched noise an old TV makes. It wasnt until he finally said it that everything stopped. "They all died. There was nothing anyone could do."

"Mom and Dad are gone? The boys too?" I asked already knowing the answer but just not being able to wrap my 8 year old brain around it. Everyone was crying now even Grandpa Hagen.

"Yes Cesile, they're all gone. You were the only survivor, and they're not sure how you did that." While Grandpa Hagen talked he tried so hard to pull himself together. He didnt wipe at the tears falling from his eyes but as he looked at me they didnt fall as fast. "You have a brain injury so you will have to stay in the hospital for awhile also you broke a couple bones so it's going to be a long recovery."

I looked at all the others in the room Grandma, Grandpa Chesop were holding eachother at my feet crying. Grandma Hagen was holding my hand and Grandpa Hagens while also crying softly. Aunt Theresa was by herself on my other side and then Uncle Bronx came in. She didnt leave my side but instead Bronx came to her and gave me a kiss on my forehead.

"Hows my opossum?" He whispered. I wasnt sure how to answer. How could your whole life turn upside down in a matter of seconds? I just couldn't understand that I didnt have my mom and my dad, or that I wasnt....

"I'm not going to be a big sister." I whispered. Everyone stopped crying and looked at me and a different look I'd never seen before crossed their face. I'd learn later it was called pity. Somehow that look just made me feel worse then I already did.

My Aunt and Uncle ended up taking me in as I was their god child. I visited my grandparents quite a lot and everyone did holidays together. Everyone tried to make things as easy as possible for me. Life normalized for awhile, and it was good, too good.