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Without waiting, I get out of bed and walk over to the bed next to her, where Mom has just laid down.

Carefully climbing onto the bed, I position myself in front of her, slowly making my way into her arms, then stare into her empty eyes, causing my concern to rise to another level.

Gently touching mom's face, I look into her eyes and whisper "I don't know what's causing you so much pain mom...but you need to know that you will always be the best mom there is and that no matter what happens, I'll be with you until the end."

"*Sniff*" Showing me that she heard me, mom's eyes began to redden quickly, then she took me in her arms and hugged me tightly as she whispered "I will never leave my children...never in life..."

Never leave us?

What is she talking about?

What happened to her?

Why did she look so bad?

According to Ashley, Mom only went out for a few minutes.

Whatever affected her must be around here somewhere, since I doubt she would say those words just because of some memories of something in the past.

Brayan...

He must be staying nearby.

Did that asshole do something?

"My children..." Mom murmured a few minutes later, as I watched her eyes slowly close, until only her breathing remained relaxed, giving me to understand that she fell asleep.

Sigh

Problems with a drug addict and aggressive father, money problems and homelessness, problems with an older sister who apparently suffers from depression and heals her problems with pills or drugs.

At this rate, my family could fall apart at any moment?

I should think about solving these problems as soon as possible.

The older sister is quite a challenge, I don't know what her mental state is, she usually always acts calm and mature, but today I saw her weakness twice.

Money is something fundamental that I also need to fix, I just hope the books work out.

Although...

I don't know much about publishers, the only thing I have from the description is that they usually keep most of the authors' money.

Something similar for musicians.

I guess I should patent the book first so that the publishers don't steal it from me...

But I need a cover and drawings of the characters, even the scenes of the book.

I should learn how to draw...

That will help me a lot at the time of negotiating in case they accept the book.

I could get a higher percentage of profit in my name, I could even translate it into other languages myself, I would just have to study the languages more thoroughly.

Are there publishers here in Detroit?

How much does it cost to patent a book?

Do I need anything to do it?

Can I patent something in my name if I am a minor?

Are there YouTube videos on how to draw well?

I have the exact memories of the illustrations in this book, but I doubt I can replicate them without experience.

Sigh

We'll see in due time.

What complicates me the most is Brayan...

What to do with that jerk?

Mom already knows everything, and seeing that this man is no longer with us, she gives me to understand that she faced him and ended up with an argument.

But if he comes back?

What can I do?

Call the police?

What if that's why they try to take us away from Mom?

It's quite likely when you consider where we're living.

Drug addicted father, low-income mother, no stable home, 14-year-old girl out of school for work.

Ugh

No matter how I look at it, it would all go the wrong way.

Sigh

I may be a genius, but I don't understand what to do in cases as delicate as these...

"Christian, the food is ready, when you finish eating remember to brush your teeth" shouted Ashley from across the room.

"Yes, sis..."

Turning my head towards the window, I could see that it was starting to get dark.

I guess that's work for my future self.

...

The night passed normally, and as usual, the next morning Eva got up early for work, leaving her children to enjoy their rest, leaving everything in the care of her eldest daughter.

The morning passed, and Christian had already woken up along with all his siblings, but without wasting any more time, he took his notebook and began to write the other books of the Harry Potter saga, while his siblings were watching television.

The time passed quickly until the sun was showing signs of setting, but unfortunately, their time of normality was broken by the arrival of someone unexpected.

*Pa*

Hearing the loud bang of the door closing, everyone looked up, meeting directly with the sight of Brayan, who was looking at everyone with reddened eyes.

...

What's this bastard doing here?

Frowning at the look on my 'father' face, I set my notebook aside and looked at my older sister, noticing the conflicted look on her face.

"F-father?" stammered Ashley, as she got out of bed, slowly approaching the man.

"DON'T CALL ME FATHER!!!" Brayan suddenly shouted in fury, as my little siblings trembled at his scream.

What the fuck is wrong with this asshole?

He was always stupid, but he never did anything in front of my little siblings.

In bewilderment, I get up from the bed, quickly approaching Brayan, cutting him off from my siblings.

"What are you doing here!" With a frown, I face my father for the first time, causing surprise to show on his face.

"Who do you think you are!" Brayan replied disdainfully, quickly grabbing me by the hair, causing my face to distort in anger and pain, as my body tensed.

"A-get away from us!" Ashley exclaimed, quickly approaching Brayan, as she tried to separate his arm from my hair.

*Pa*

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!" Shouted Brayan, slapping Ashley hard, causing blood to start leaking from her lip "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I HATE YOUR FUCKING EXISTENCE!!!"

What's wrong with him?

Looking closely at the man in front of me, I easily notice his bloodshot eyes.

Is he on drugs?

What the fuck did he consume?

"D-Dad?" whispered Ashley in pain, holding her hand up to her face in disbelief at his words.

*Pa*

"DON'T CALL ME DAD!!!" Shouted Brayan, slapping my sister for the second time in front of me, causing my mind to tense up more and more.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!!!" Not resisting any longer, I YELLED in fury, pulling Ashley back, to stand in front of her.

"DON'T YELL AT ME YOU FUCKING KID!!!" Brayan shouted in anger, as his hand gained momentum to slap me.

"ENOUGH!!!"

*Thud*

With an angry shout, Ashley pushed Brayan, causing him to fall to the ground, then grab me and hide on her back.

"LEAVE YOUR SHIT AND GET OUT OF THE ROOM OR I'LL TELL MOM!!!"

"T-TU...!!!!" With his face completely red in anger, Brayan stood up from the floor, pointing his shaking finger at Ashley "DO YOU THINK YOUR MOTHER WILL DO SOMETHING!!!?"

"OF COURSE SHE WILL, SHE'S NOT A SCUMBAG LIKE YOU!!!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Laughed Brayan exaggeratedly, causing my brow to furrow "STUPID, YOUR MOTHER HATES YOU ALL!!!"

"LIE!!!"

I screamed with hatred, as I felt my mind becoming increasingly confused and chaotic.

"YOUR MOTHER HATES YOU ALL, ESPECIALLY YOU, YOU FUCKING KID!!!" Brayan shouted, pointing directly at me as his face reflected pure madness "YOUR MOTHER HATES YOU, SHE HATES YOU!!!"

It's a lie...

"BECAUSE OF YOUR DAMN FAULT YOUR MOTHER HAS TO WORK AS A SLAVE EVERY DAY, YOU ARE THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO HER IN HER LIFE!!!"

"IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU, YOUR MOTHER WOULD HAVE GONE ON WITH HER DREAMS, SHE WOULDN'T HAVE TO WORK IN THAT FAST FOOD SHIT!!!"

With those words, my mind boggled.

I didn't even need to confirm if it was a lie, since I know perfectly well it's a truth.

No matter how much I dislike the idea, I was the one who ruined my mother's life.

Because of me she couldn't fulfill her dreams....

It was because of me that mom had to start working in something she probably hates.

It's all my fault...

Memories and experiences were starting to haunt my mind, helplessness was starting to run through my body, the lack of strength enraged my blood causing it to flow frantically throughout my body, everything in me was starting to act confused and I was feeling it more and more as if the blood was something viscous twisting through my veins.

Those words and the obvious truth in them keep ringing over and over in my head, causing self-loathing to dominate my mind.

"AND YOU!!!" He points his finger at Ashley "YOU ARE THE MOST DISGUSTING, YOU SHOULD JUST DISAPPEAR AND SAVE US THE TROUBLE!!!"

"D-Dad..." Ashley whispered sadly, as tears began to leak from her eyes, then screamed in aggravation "WHY ARE YOU PUNISHING ME!!!?!? WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU TO PUT UP WITH ALL THIS SHIT!!!!!?

*Pa*

"I SAID DON'T CALL ME DADDY!!!" Brayan shouts, slapping my sister for the third time in front of me "I PUNISH YOU FOR LIVING!!!!"

No...

That bastard...

Seeing the blood running from Ashley's lip and her vacant stare, fury screamed inside me, causing me to step forward and try to push Brayan, but as I was about to touch him, my body froze, while an overwhelming fear assaulted my body, causing my arms and legs to shake heavily.

The fear became visible on my face, but I still tried my best to regain my mobility, failing again.

The fear was so intense that I couldn't deal with it, my whole body started to tremble, to such an extent that I even felt that at any moment I could pee myself.

"RUDE BOY!!!" Brayan shouts angrily at my attempt, only to raise his hand and...

*Pa*

A painful, burning sensation surrounded my cheek, as Brayan's laughter replayed over and over in my mind.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!!!"

I heard Ashley scream, as a hand pushed me back, but my mind didn't process anymore, all my rage shut down, leaving only fear in me.

I remained sitting on the ground, watching in a daze as my father beat Ashley, but seconds later, all my sight turned purple, sounds began to blur. I felt my body tremble strongly, the blood that I felt flowing non-stop before began to present anomalies; it no longer advanced directly, but every 2 seconds, the blood stopped and continued advancing, repeating that cycle over and over again.

I don't know how I managed to feel my body so deeply, but little by little I gained awareness of everything inside me, and I felt less and less of what was happening around me.

My brain, my nervous system, my neurons, my blood, my heart, even my cells, it all felt perfectly as if I had always had the sensation of them, no different than my limbs.

My mind became confused, all these new sensations were starting to take their toll on me, my brain hurt, I felt perfectly the overload on it, I feel my blood stop and move forward with more force, causing damage in some veins, my heart started to fail, the blood was pumping at an uneven rate, causing the first symptoms in my nose, where the blood started to fall furiously down my nostrils.

My muscles began to contract and expand rapidly, causing a sharp pain in me, my nervous system was sending more and more information to my mind, pain, hunger, more pain, tiredness, all this uncontrolled information caused everything to become a rampant storm inside me.

Memories and memories kept coming to my mind, while Brayan's words sounded louder and louder in my mind, aggravating my whole condition.

But just as I felt like my whole body was going to fall apart, a voice brought me back to clarity, causing my consciousness to come back to reality, and my body to return to normal functioning.

"Pathetic!"

Amidst all those unrecognizable sounds, a scream rang out clearly next to me, causing me to turn my head with difficulty, encountering something that paralyzed me again.

"You're such a fucking pussy!"

Sitting next to me was...

Myself...

Not my now self, but my former self, John Black.

There was a deep disdain in his gaze, as he seemed to be talking to me.

"You're talking to me?" I asked in confusion.

"Yes and no, you're a pussy, but I'm telling that kid" Pointing to my side, John smiled, pointing to my other side.

With hesitation, I turn my head, meeting... another me.

Exactly me.

Christian Grey was sitting next to me, firming his knees as he shrank between them, leaving only my hair and ears in view, but his body was visibly trembling.

"Scary... daddy... scary..."

"Scary is you being such a pussy" John rolled his eyes in disdain, as he sat down next to me, looking calmly down at the floor.

-----------------------------

Space for the author's complaints about his life:

Today at work, I didn't get scolded by my boss for being absent. But I did have a conflict with female workers. Where I am, it takes a man to do all the heavy lifting, and that's where I come in. But because so many people missed work today, they put me in another place for support, where all the machines were out of control, and heavy boxes were falling all over the place. The problem is that the workers complained to the boss because I supposedly left work, when it was our boss's boss who moved me to another area. In short, I ended up with an injured hand because a box fell on my hand, and very upset because I had to put up with angry old ladies.