"I'm in a gang." Shane said.


"Oh? What gang is this? The My Little Pony gang?" Marcco chuckled shaking his head.



"No, its called the Red Bandanna." Shane said with a smirk.


Marcco and I looked at each other, "Your not serious, are you?"


"I am very serious." Shane said.


My jaw slacked, "Mom's gonna kill you!" Marcco hissed punching him in the arm.


"She won't kill me if she doesn't know." Shane said rolling his eyes.


Over the years, Marcco has taught himself to read my eyes. He told me that at first it was tough but then it got easier. Ever since I started living in the same house as the boys I've learned that Shane is an adrenaline junkie. When my dad and Star were just dating the boys would come over. One time Shane climbed up on the roof and jumped off.


When my dad and Star were on their honeymoon, Shane got a hold of the babysitters keys and sped around the neighborhood. Shane ended up crashing into a tree. Joining a gang just made the list of stupid things longer.


The school came into view and I could feel my anxiety rising.


"Calm down, they don't know anything. This isn't like your old school." I thought to my self.


"I heard there was going to be a fight." Shane said, I could hear the slightest bit of excitement in his voice.


"Kent and Daylin are going at it again?" Marcco asked cocking one of his eyebrows.


"Yep!" Shane said with a laugh.


"That would be the fourth time this month." Marcco said to me.


"Shane!" A boy with brown hair came running towards us, "You never told me you had a sister."


"She's our step sister, Dallas." Shane said throwing an arm around my shoulders.


"You could have told me." The boy named Dallas said rolling his hazel eyes.


"I would rather not have told my friends." Shane said crossing his arms over his chest.


"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not straight?" Dallas asked angrily.


The memory flashed in my head so fast that I barely caught it. My mothers rage filled face. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing. What a great place to have an anxiety attack! I opened my eyes and noticed Marcco looking at me. I forced a smile.


I didn't want to tell him that I was having an attack. I didn't him and my dad to fuss over me. I looked around for a place to sit. When I didn't find one I sighed. I decided that maybe I should go to the office and get everything finalized. I walked up to the school and opened the door.


I almost got trampled by a group of boys running out of the school. I calmed myself down and continued to the office. Once I found it I walked in.


"You must be Ashlynn Lee!" The secretary squealed. I nodded a bit startled.


At my old school they never called me by my first name, it was always my mothers name.


"I went to school with your father!" She squealed again. I nodded once more.


A man in a suit walked in, I'm guessing he's the principle, "Charolette, write up Kent and Daylin." He said then turned to me, his eyes softened.


"So this is the daughter my brother has kept to himself?" He said with a smile. Brother? I took a piece of paper and a pencil out of my bag and wrote:

Who's your brother?


"Your father silly! I can't believe he didn't tell you about your uncle." He shook his head. I looked at him in disbelief, my dad told me he didn't have any siblings...


"Dad! Why am I gettin' in trouble?" A kid that looked like a spitting image of the man in front of me, whined.


"This is the fourth time Kenton!" The principal snapped.


"Didn't your daddy ever teach you not to pick fights with thugs?" a boy I guessed was the one named Daylin walked in.


"That is enough!" The principal boomed. I took in both of the boys appearances.


Kent looked like he had been hit by a train, his lip was split open and he had a large bruise on his cheek. One of his eyes were swollen shut and his nose was gushing out blood. Daylin have as much as a scratch on him. When Daylin caught me looking he glared.


"You boys have caused enough trouble. Next time you two fight you will be expelled. Do I make myself clear?" The Principal asked the two.


"You wouldn't expel your own son! Mom would kill me!" Kent said his voice getting squeaky.


"If it comes to that then I will not hesitate to expel you, Kenton," He said, "I will not suspend you two. For punishment you two will show Lee around the school."


My whole body stiffened. My mother had called me that. There was a sharp pain in my head. My dad had stopped calling me Lee when he sent my mother away.


I played the pain off and sucked it up. I wrote:

I can find my way around myself. I wouldn't want to trouble them with me.


"Doesn't she talk?" Daylin asked.

No, I hurt my voice box when I was younger.


"Why'd you call her 'Lee' dad?" Kent asked.


"She's family, Kenton. This is your cousin, Ashlynn Lee." The principal said. I still didn't believe that he was my uncle. There was a loud ringing that I assumed was the bell.


"Ashlynn you are to report here after every hour." He said before walking out of the office. I sighed and walked out of the office, towards my first class. I could tell today was going to be a long day.

I could feel people staring at me when I walked down the hall towards the office. This was worse than the bullying! I hate being the center of attention. When I walked into the office I heard my dad and my supposed uncle talking.


"I thought I told you that I didn't want you near my daughter." My father said.


"You can't keep her from me. We are family."


"She didn't need to know about my side of the family. She already talks to mother." Dad said with a sigh.


"Why does it seem that you are hiding what has happened to that child?" My uncle asked.


"Its nothing I want to remember. I don't want her to keep remembering it either." Dad said.


"Father keeps complaining about you never bringing her over and how mother is the only one that you allow to see her." My uncle said.


"I would rather not talk about this..." Dad said. I didn't want to ease drop anymore so I knocked on the door frame. Dad poked his head out of the principals office first. Then the principal stuck his head out. I flashed a smile, showing off my braces. Oops, I forgot to tell you I had those.


"Why hello Lee." My uncle said.


"Matthew...Do. Not. Use. That. Nickname. Ever." Dad said.


I took a piece of paper and wrote:


Just call me Ash.


"Ash is better than that other one." Dad said.


Matthew nodded and then turned to me, "How was your first period?" He asked me with a smile.


I wrote:

People were staring because of Daylin and Kent but it was fine.


"Of all people you let your son escort my daughter?" Dad growled. Wait. When do humans growl?


"It was for punishment." Matthew said with a sigh.


"I can think of other punishments than escorting my daughter." Dad mumbled. The bell rang...ugh!


I got up and made my way to the door, "Wait, Ash, you're going to need a pass." Matthew handed me a red piece of paper.


*********


By the end of the day I was tired and really just wanted to take a nap. I had a total of 2 anxiety attacks but I managed to hide them. Matthew poked his head in every class and told everyone that I was his niece. When I told Marcco about it at lunch he burst out laughing.


"I heard that you're Kent's cousin." Shane said as we made our way home. I gave him my dirtiest look. Kent had been everything but nice to me today. When I came out of the bathroom he kicked me in the shin and stole my math book.


"He's been a total jerk to her." Marrco said.


"He's a jerk to everybody. He thinks that because he's the principals son that he can throw everyone around." Shane said with a scowl.


After that the walk was quiet. Once we were inside I seen that my dad and Star were standing near the table, Dad's arms were crossed over his chest. The boys looked at me. What did I do?


"Why didn't you tell anyone you had an attack, not one, but two!" Dad was angry. I grabbed the white board.


'I don't need everyone to fuss over me like I'm some cracked china doll!' I wrote.


"We don't fuss, Ash. We get worried. I don't want you to ever have an attack like the first one."Dad said his eyes softening. I nodded and walked to my room. Once in the safety of my room I let myself break.


*******


The next day I had an orthodontist appointment. When I walked into the office Daylin was sitting in one of the chairs bloodied and battered. I winced when I seen him. I kept my eyes glued to the floor and walked up to the secretaries desk and started to fill in the sign in form.


"Look its mutt." Kent sneered as he walked out of the principal's office. His name didn't effect me. I have been called worse.


"Kenton." Matthew boomed. I didn't dare look up from the sign in sheet.


"What?" Kent snapped.


"Go home. You have caused too much trouble." Matthew said. Kenton growled then walked out. What is up with these people and growling?


"I am sorry that you got jumped by men that Kent hired, Daylin." Matthew said with a sigh.


"Its fine. Your son is just jealous that I'm taking your role." I could hear the smirk in his tone. What role?


"Shut your mouth right now, Daylin."


I looked up from the sheet and in the direction from where Kent's voice had come from. Kent stood there with a sledgehammer in his hand and a can of gasoline in the other. I gulped. Memories began playing before I could tell myself not to think. Kent walked up to the desk raising the sledgehammer and hitting the desk. The glass that covered the wood shattered and I got cut in the arm. I screamed. Now my throat hurt. When I was home alone with my mother she had made me drink a chemical that she had bought off the streets. It had damaged my vocal cords.


Daylin tackled Kent to the ground and pinned him down. I was too terrified to look at my arm. I could feel something warm running down it but I wouldn't look.



"Dammit!" Matthew swore and grabbed a first aid kit from the rubble of the desk.



"Daylin, take Kenton to the cellar." Matthew ordered. Um, when do schools have cellars?



I was willing myself not to cry because I don't cry in front of people. My dad once told me that crying in front of others showed weakness. I could feel Matthew wrapping my arm up. I tried to stop the room from spinning, but I failed. I was having and attack. Sweet baby Jesus.


I felt like I was choking. I hated when I had them. Sometimes they would last hours, other times it would only be 5 minuets long. The room was spinning faster and faster until everything went black.

I didn't want to open my eyes. I pretended I was asleep and listened in on my dad's conversation with Matthew.

"Your son needs to pull himself together. Its things like this that prove his an unfit leader." Dad said.

"I have it taken care of. Don't worry."

"How am I not suppose to worry? My daughter has been in the hospital most of her childhood and now she's in it again, this is ridiculous!" Dad said. Dad hated when I would go to the hospital. He made my mother stay home while he took me to the hospital.

"Why won't you tell anybody why she can't talk or why you don't mention Kylise?" Matthew asked.

"Fine, I'll tell you." Dad said with a sigh. I prepared myself for the story.

"Kylise gave birth to Ryker and Ray. Then a few years later she gave birth to Ash. When the boys were six and Ashlynn was three they were playing out in the woods. I wasn't there but when Ash came inside she was covered in blood and she looked like a ghost. She didn't say anything until that night. Ash said that the boy's were eaten by a monster.

Kylise laughed and asked where the boys really were. Ash started crying and she crawled under the table and rocked herself holding onto her head. It was painful to see her like that. Over the course of the next few days Kylise became frustrated with Ash and kept asking what had happened to the boys. Whenever Kylise mentioned them Ash would burst into tears and run into my office and hide under my desk.

"Kylise told the police that our sons were missing. The police had tried to ask Ash about it, they even brought in Psychologists, they couldn't get anything out of her. It was then when I realized that Ash was having problems. She would squint to see and she would always complain that her head hurt. After two years the police had nothing but shredded clothes. Kylise wouldn't take that, so she blamed the deaths of the boys on Ash.

"She was cruel to Ash. While I was at a meeting with my editor, Kylise made Ash drink an acid she had bought off the streets! When I got home I found Kylise passed out on the couch and Ash in the kitchen clutching her throat and puking up what looked like muscle tissue. I took her to the hospital and the doctors told me that she was never going to speak again and if she ever said something it would probably hurt her.

"Kylise didn't stop there. She had the police hire an expert to test Ash for Schizophrenia. Kylise told Ash that she had tampered with the equipment and that's when I sent Kylise away. Ash didn't deserve what happened after that. Ash got called down to the office when she was in the fourth grade and in that office was where I almost lost her. Kylise shot my daughter point blank in the chest.

I never want that to happen to her again. Then when she was in the fifth grade she started started showing signs of an anxiety disorder and having seizures. before she went into the 6th grade I met my second chance and now we're happy as a family." Dad's breath was shaky as he finished.

"That still doesn't explain why you kept her away from everyone but mother." Matthew said.

"Father would look down on her." Dad said.

I heard the door open, "When did you plan on telling me my grand baby was in the hospital?" Grandma sounded agitated.

"I was going to call." Dad said, I could tell he had forgotten about calling.

"Don't lie to me!" Grandma hissed.

"How exactly did you find out?"

"I beat it out of that alpha-in-training." Grandma 'tsked'. What is an alpha?

"You beat him?" Matthew asked sounding stunned.

"I'm not that frail, Matthew." Grandma said, I could imagine her rolling her blue eyes. I decided that I should probably wake up now. I opened my eyes slowly and rubbed one of them.

"She's awake." Matthew was stating the obvious.

"Well she doesn't sleep with her eyes open." Grandma rolled her eyes.

"Mother...you give me a headache." Matthew said.

"Good. My job here is done." Grandma chuckled with a smirk.

"I hope that terrible boy of yours is sent away. I hate that one of my grandchildren is power hungry." Grandma said running her fingers through half of my hair.

"He needs to be put to trial first mother." Matthew sighed leaning against a wall.

"You are nothing like your father, I guess that's a good thing though." Grandma said.

"Please take your talk about the subject else where." Dad said.

"Always so snappy, Maximus." Grandma sighed.

"Well my daughter is in a hospital bed hooked up to a bunch of machines." Dad said.

"She's fine. You two are a bunch of protective men." Grandma always was an honest woman, she isn't afraid to speak her mind. Grandma didn't look old either, she looked like she was in her forties. Her brown hair had barely any gray and she didn't have any wrinkles.

"We are parents and with a father like ours..." Matthew trailed off.

Grandma chuckled, "your father is still terribly protective."

I've heard about my grandpa for a few years but I have never met him.

"It's a shame you won't let princess meet him." Grandma pouted. Princess was a nickname given to me because my grandma thought I would be the perfect princess one day.

"I will. But he needs to make time in his busy schedule to meet her." Dad said.

"Yay!" Grandma cheered and kissed my cheek before practically running out of the room.


Well then....