It was a chilly October morning in Newport, Seattle as I awoke to the ritual cries of the baby. It was not long ago that I became a single mother. I was only 15 at the time. The baby was blood but not my child, even though I raised her. The story is that I am Amanda Mayfield my parents Kelly and Michael Mayfield were divorced. My father remarried to Samantha Hays and they had a baby boy named MJ or Jr. for Michael Jr. My mom however took the divorce hard. She fell in love with a drug dealer Marcus Hampton. He hated me. I hated him. He always told my mom when they got married I was being shipped off to a boarding school in France. My dad wanted me but my mom would not let him have me. So she got pregnant and Marcus said he would marry her if she left me and the baby. She agreed. So here is me at the age of fifteen trying to raise a new born baby. I can’t even drive yet much less care for a baby. Marcus didn’t like my dad so he said if I ever went there he would hunt me down and kill me. So she had the baby and one night they left. We lived in a camper on the outskirts of town. It was a bad place to raise a baby and live alone. The only one that new about this was my neighbor. She was an elderly lady named Mrs. Lucille Conrad. She was like my grandma while growing up. She helped raise me. I have lived here ever since I was five years old (that’s when my parents got divorced). My mom abused alcohol during that time. Until she met Marcus. Then she abused drugs with him. She did not like it at first but Marcus said it would take all her problems away. When she got into using it every night she would be so high the littlest thing made her explode. She beat me bad some nights. I said it was from softball. My friends asked where I played and I said out of town with my cousins (LIE). When the baby was born I had to drop out and be a full time parent. My goal was to go to college but I couldn’t even finish high school. I love the baby with all my heart but this is hard. Teaching her words and such, and soon potty training and everything. It’s been nine months since the baby was born and my dad visits on weekends and calls every day. When he comes I tell mom just went out because she doesn’t want to see him (LIE). My friends think the baby is mine. The adore her. On the chilly day of October 26 something unexpected happens that could change Mandy’s life forever.