D o you sometimes let something slip out of your hands because you didn’t feel like it was

worth holding? Even when holding it was not difficult, you wanted it, but let it go because you kind of
had it, but didn’t feel like you need it. Kind of like there are more important things to hold on to so you
let it go?

If you have, you are probably going to regret it because you need to hold onto everything life
gives you. I hate that people think of things they want, and those things are easy to get, but they don’t
even bother trying. I am not a fan of the phrase ‘it is better to try and fail than not try at all,’ because
you waste your energy in trying and failing, but sometimes people should try. LIKE PLEASE!!! QUIT
FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELVES. STOP BEING BABIES WAITING FOR LIFE TO HAPPEN TO YOU INSTEAD
OF LIVING LIFE. Like, live an active life, not a passive life. Don’t wait for life to happen, MAKE it happen.
People don’t know how to live life, especially the youth, their phones are the reason they don’t have
lives. I am sorry, I know it seems like parents are just as addicted to their phones as they are, but they
are not. The difference is that parents use their phones for work most of the time or to pass boredom,
but kids want to use their phones all the time, when they have things to do when they are with friends. I
hate when they use them when someone is talking to them, those people are the worst. Since they are
in their digital lives all the time, they are very naïve and do so much to get life experience, but you get
life experience by living life.

UNDERSTAND that you can’t just start like BOOM whenever you want something, you become
ambitious enough to get it. It needs to start with the little things, because 1, it needs to be a habit, and
2, the little things matter A LOT. They pile up into one big thing.

It is the reason people these days are depressed. They focus too much on the bigger picture yet
there are tiny details that matter. You ignore the small things that make you sad and that sadness piles
up, or you don’t bother getting the easy small things that make your day yet those things piled together
could make you a lot happier. And also those little things can make or break someone’s day. Like
something as simple as smiling more often can make people approach you more, something as simple as
giving a compliment can make their day, and something as simple as walking away when they are talking
to you can make them upset.

Anyway back to letting stuff slip out of your hands. Don’t do it, no matter how useless you think
that stuff is going to be. I learned that the hard way.

“You, idiot! Don’t go to him! He is just going to break your heart!” My thoughts were
interrupted by my sister yelling at her laptop. She is probably watching Netflix.

“What?” I asked in confusion as I looked at the crazy girl.

“ This girl has been crushing on a family friend her whole life and now when she starts dating
some other guy, her crush gets jealous, so she dumps her boyfriend to be with her crush but he rejects
her, so his brother confesses his feelings for her and they start dating, now her crush is jealous again and
confesses he made a mistake, but she tells him that his time is up, but now he begged her to be with
him and just said,” she rolled her eyes before continuing “I want you” she spoke in a mocking voice still
rolling her eyes “and then the dumb girl kissed him” she frowned as she crossed her arms.
 I let out a laugh before agreeing with her, “I hate that they always end up with whoever liked
first or they end up with no one.”

“Right! Like he was not the one for her, he just liked that she liked him. He didn’t like her,” she
spoke with irritation showing in her voice “I knew they’d end up together but I still had a little bit of
hope.” She sighed “now I wasted my time watching this thing when I could have been watching
something better.” She complained as a pout grew on her face. “The worst part is that I know I am going
to watch season 2 however much I hate this show.”

Maybe I should watch it. She was screaming at the screen which means it is good, it means she
got really into it and forgot that she looks like a crazy person, lecturing her laptop.

Back to my thoughts… I honestly sometimes hate my parents for what they did to us, but then I
realize, even though they tried to kill us often, they are the reason I understand life. Which is great. I
have a dark past, but a bright future. Because of them, I was able to learn the hard way, that life doesn’t
control you… you can control it.

“Do you miss them?” Kelly asked, seeming to have read my mind. I mean, I guess my parents are
not around to read my mind, so she has to.

“Honestly, yes, but I know if I saw them again, I would want to get away from them.” If that
makes sense. You only miss people because memories have imagination added to them, seeing them
won’t be as amazing as you imagined it would be. It is normal and boring most of the time.

“Me too, but they were monsters, I am scared to see them again.” She confessed, causing me to
let out a chuckle.

My parents were no, are scary people. The worst part is that they act so sweet, and everyone
believes they are. Especially because they seem extremely authentic. They were able to manipulate me
and Kelly all the time into believing they were nice people who just did wrong things, but I will never
forget what happened the night we left.

*Flashback*

My eyes get tired from reading some harry potter book that a friend gave me, and so I turn off
the lights in my room and close the windows so that no bats or kidnappers enter. I turn to face my
bedroom window as I hear the wind that moves the trees and also hear different cars passing by. The sky
is dark almost black but there are still a few clouds, but they were thin. By the way, the sky at night has
few clouds and they are thin, yet sometimes it can rain so much, how does that work exactly? My phone
is like 9 whole inches away from me, I don’t have the energy to look it up, I have already found my
comfortable spot.

“AHHH” I hear the screams of my little sister in the middle of the night. It is coming from her
room. I sigh knowing what it is before going to check.

I groan in irritation, as I get out of my bed having to leave my comfortable spot that usually
takes a while to find. I reach her room to see that my guess was right. It is our parents. I don’t know
what they are doing to her or why they are doing it, but I knew it would be them.
 I enter the room and find her in tears as she clutches her right arm with her left hand. She is
seated on her bed with my dad holding her curling iron as he stands in front of her.

I know this is where I act shocked and surprised, but I am honestly not. And the worst part is that
I am sure that she did nothing wrong.

“What is going on?” I ask as my mom stops looking at Kelly and looks at me.

“Your sister doesn’t seem to understand that in this family we don’t take things from others.”
My mom looks supper mad and irritated.

“It was a gift!” she defended. Tears flowing out of her eyes as she winced in pain looking at the
burn on her arm.

I felt so bad, but there was no point in defending her, they are always right… even when they are
wrong. There is no use wasting my breath on them. BUT HOW DO YOU BURN YOUR CHILD FOR
RECEIVING A GIFT??!!!

“What gift? It is not your birthday is it?” My dad asked, clearly not caring about the fact that he
is punishing- no physically abusing his child for no reason at all.

She stays silent as she winces in pain. I didn’t bother getting into it because they always know
how to justify their actions. Most times, in the moment, I believe their lies no matter how dumb it is. That
is just how manipulative they can be.

I leave the room and I go back into mine. I don’t know what I am going to do. They have always
been abusive. Emotionally, mentally, and physically. However, they were not so bad with me. It started
with manipulation, went on to physical harm. By the time I was in college is when it started to get really
bad. Kelly was only 12 at the time but then she started to see their monstrous ways.

The thing is they hurt her so much, but they are not even mad at her, it is just how they handle
their anger. From different things, like stress from work or annoyed by a friend. It has gotten worse and
worse over the years. A bad day for them is a bad day for her, in fact even worse. She has so many scars
from the both of them, when her most recent one is about to heal, they give her a new one.

They are monsters, but they still love the both of us, and so every time they hurt her, they later
on feel guilty, but of course their pride won’t let them apologize, so they kind of bribe her to forgive
them. Not directly, but they will be so sweet to her and buy her gifts they think she would like.
Unfortunately for them, she is supper afraid of them so she never uses her gifts from them, fearing that
they are traps.

They don’t touch me because by the time they started using physical abuse, I was already in
college, and they could not do anything when I came back because they know I am very close to being
independent and could leave at any time I wanted. They are sure of this because I started making a lot of
money a few years before college and so now my savings are very high. I won’t get into details, but it is
enough to take care of both me and my sister.

I have not left yet because I don’t trust them. I need to be around when they hurt her, to comfort
her and make sure they don’t severely hurt her. But then it clicked.
 I wait for my parents to enter their rooms and wait a few minutes for them to fall asleep as a
read my book to pass time. When I am 90% percent positive that they are asleep, I crawl out of bed and
enter Kelly’s room where I aggressively shook her awake.

“Ughhh what…?” Kelly whispered wanting to be left alone to sleep.

“Do you want to keep being tortured or do you want to get away?” her eyes flickered wide open
when she heard me say that.

“Are you serious? Because if you are joking I am going to slap you right now,” she threatened
me, but with excitement. I would be happy too, but not believe me either. Like it is random I guess. Most
kids come back a few hours after trying to run away so I get why she doubts that I am being serious.

“I am serious”

“Ok, but is they find out and find me, and then kill me, my ghost shall haunt you” she threatened
again, as I let out a chuckle. Full of aggression as always. She probably gets it from our parents.

I left her room as she started to pack her valuables and I did the same. We aren’t taking
everything with us, just the things we know we can’t live without and a few clothes.

I check on her when I am done and she seems to be done too, she has her shoes on and is ready
to go. Of course there is no point in dramatically going through a window, just when through the front
door, after all our parents were asleep so it was not like when you open the door their eyes just click
awake.

We just walk not so far and I rent an apartment that is not so far from home. It was not long
before I checked us in and we were sharing a room just for tonight because we are only here for one
night anyway.

We had both finish showering and soon lie in our beds. The room is dark and there are lights
outside that shine and bring in a little light. I turn as I lie onto my back and stare at the ceiling.

I feel like idk. This feels so unreal like I am dreaming. I cannot believe we run away. This is not
how I planned to become independent, but I have today, and I have to take care of my sister like she is
my daughter. I am hoping that I can care for her till she finishes college and can make it out on her own.

I turn to the side as my eyes get tired and so I feel like I am ready to sleep. I close my eyes when I
am a few minutes away from a deep slumber. I hear my sister’s tired whispers.

“Chase?”

“Yeah?” I asked barely able to keep awake.

“They better not find us or kill us. If they do, I am killing you in the afterlife,” her voice was still
tired.

I just chuckled. “I know, kiddo”

◦˙ ۞ ˙◦
 I wake up and see the bright sun outside the window, hiding behind a few thick, beautiful,
clouds. The sky is a light shade of blue and along with the trees, it just makes it a beautiful day. I smiled
as I got out of my bed to wake my sister up so we can leave.

The both of us get ready before we leave in a taxi.

“Chase?” Kelly calls with a light voice that had worry evident in it.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think they will find us?” she asks seeming to be having second thoughts about the whole
running away thing. I would too.

“No, don’t worry, they could never find us. At least not so soon, maybe when you are almost
completing school, and then they can’t do anything because you are about to leave them,” I assured her
about her safety. I won’t let them find her.

*End of Flashback*

So if you were thinking they were dead, they are not, at least we left them alive, I am not sure if
they still are though. I hope they are; they did raise me to be the successful man I am now.

When I was 12, Kelly was only 5 and we used to make bracelets together and so when I was 15
my parents gave me money to start my own business which was making and selling watches, they were
not hard to make when I had the right materials. I was able to pay them back after 3 weeks and then I
continued. When I was 18, it was my senior year and I was making expensive watches and making more
money. By the time I completed college, I was 22, I was and I had a company selling watches and
employees who sell them for me. It was then that we got away from our parents and the reason I was
able to pay for Kelly’s school and rent our apartment and pay all the bills without hustling.

It has been 2 years and Kelly is 17, only one year away from finishing school. She also has her
business, following in her brother’s footsteps. She makes all types of jewelry and she is close to getting
enough money to start employing people.

◦˙ ۞ ˙◦

It is 9 pm and Kelly is not home from school yet, if she was at a friend’s house, she would’ve
called by now. I am very worried. I called the school and they told me she left hours ago. I called her, but
she didn’t pick up. I called her again, and thankfully she picked up.

“Hello?”

“We have your sister and you are going to do whatever we tell you to do if you want her to be
ok.” Someone threatened. It was a man, whose voice I kind of recognized but it couldn’t click.
 I heard the muffles of my sister in the background, she was probably unable to speak because
they tied her up and put something on her mouth to stop her from screaming. Before I could ask what
they wanted, they hang up.

What do they want, why did they kidnap her??? I cannot believe it. My sister has been
kidnapped. They should not lay a finger on her, I can’t let her get hurt. I have to find her and find out
how to get her out without them ever finding out. They might kidnap me too so I have to be careful if-
when I find her.

I rubbed my face in worry and frustration as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I looked at it
and saw a notification from an unknown number.

You are going to get your parents to sign a contract.

Why her??? Why couldn’t they just ask for money like normal people?? I know what you are
thinking and that is not my parents because the voice sounded familiar, but it wasn’t my dad’s voice.
Plus, why’d they made me make them sign their contract?

DO I HAVE TO SEE THEM AGAIN??? IT HAS BEEN TWO YEARS!!! They are probably going to
murder me for taking their child away.

◦˙ ۞ ˙◦