The sunsetting on a cool summer night. We were driving back home from the beach. My mom and dad were singing along to All My Life by K-Ci & JoJo, their wedding song.
All my life I prayed for someone like you. And I thank God that I finally found you. All my life I prayed for someone like you. And I hope that you feel that same way too. yes I pray that you do love me too.
I joined in in the backseat.
My little brother Elijah was giggling like crazy next to me as I sang to him.
"what you laughing at?" my mom said turning around to tickle him.
"Ariel can you get me the camera out the beach bag please" I leaned over Elijah and handed my mom her Nikon.
She began snapping photos of the beautiful Miami sunset. Then her kids. Elijah and I began posing together and acting goofy in the backseat as she snapped away.
"babe smile" she took a few of my dad.
He smiled goofily and she captured the moment.
"give me a kiss" he leaned over poking out his lips.
She pecked them and smiled.
A tractor trailer came speeding down the intersection and hit us. My dad tried to gain control of the car as we went spinning down the road. I held on to Elijah for dear life. He began to scream and cry out of fear. It looked like my dad was slowly gaining control but then the car flipped twice then stopped and fell to its side. I shut my eyes tight while holding on to Elijah. I opened them slowly and immediately got a pounding headache.
"Elijah?" I heard his quiet sobs "Elijah" I said softly
"Mommy, Daddy" he whispered in between sobs.
I leaned over slowly and managed to open the battered car door. I got him out of his seat belt and eased our way out.
I sat down on the curb with Elijah in between my legs as I stared at my parents lifeless bodies. Soon enough we heard ambulance and police sirens. . . .
Comments
Elijah drifted to sleep after our tiring day. I laid in my bed in the master bedroom calculating our expenses. $25,000 for five months rent, $250 for the hotel, $350 on gas and food and I just spends $200 on groceries. So we have $74,200 left. We can live off of that for a while, until I find a good paying job.
I sighed deeply realizing it was July. Elijah gonna be starting school next month. Tears began cloud my vision. My parents aren't gonna be able to see him off to school. I'm really going to be taking care of him. I wiped the tears with the back of my hands. I have to be strong for the both of us. I closed my eyes and thought of the amazing life that I'm gonna make for us and drifted off to sleep.
-----
"you're never gonna catch me!!" Elijah yelled from the living room "oh no stop!" I leaped up from the bed and ran to the living room.
When I stopped in the living room and saw Elijah playing video games with our neighbor. I sighed with relief and then grew angry.
"what do you think your doing!?" I stepped in front of the tv
"beating your brother in call of duty" he said still playing the game.
I snatched the controller out his hand "you can't just waltz and to people's houses like you live here. I don't even know your name. You're just my creep ass neighbor. Now get out!" I folded my arms.
He hopped off the couch "I'm sorry. I was trying to be the welcoming committee and brought you and your brother breakfast" he pointed to McDonald's bag on the island counter. "I knocked on the door and Elijah opened it looking all sad and lonely. So I asked if he wanted to play the game while he ate breakfast. I told him to tell you and he said you said 'ehh, okay' and then rolled over"
"thanks but you should have waited till I woke up. I woke up thinking someone was hurting him. He's all I have left"
He looked at me sympathetically "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean any harm. I'll just leave"
"no, stay. Go ahead and play the game with him" I walked off to the bathroom
I hopped in the shower and washed yesterday off my body. After the shower I felt refreshed and ready for the day. I got dressed and headed back into the living room. I sat down at the island and ate my breakfast and watched Elijah interact with the guy.
what is his name? I scratched my head trying to remember.
"my name is Andre' by the way. I told you yesterday" he said never taking his eyes off the screen.
"oh yeah, I forgot."
"I'm hip. So what do you have planned for the day?"
"I actually need to do some shopping"
"I don't want to go shopping" Elijah whinned "can I stay here with Dre?"
I c**ked my head to the side " Dre? So y'all best friends now" they nodded their heads and dapped each other up. "no Eli, he's still a stranger"
"but he's a cool stranger"
"it's cool, I can watch him. I always wanted a little brother" I sighed heavily
"fine, but if anything happens to him I will kill you. Here's my number in case of an emergency and here's some money for whatever" I put a fifty on the table
"okay mom we'll be good" Andre joked
"our mom died" Elijah said sadly
"okay, let's not talk about that" I pecked his forehead and grabbed my purse
"okay, Eli be good and I'll be back in a few hours with a surprise" I pecked his cheek
"okay" he walked me to the door and closed it behind me
I hope I'm not making a mistake
Thank you my lovelies :)
I'm going to try and add today
You know I love you girl!! :)
love this story so far RUN IT
love this story so far RUN IT
Loving the story ma! Run it!!
Run it!!!!
love??
I like this mystery dude. He seems nice for now. Maybe he could help them out.
I caught up!! When i saw Kid Cudi i started singing "Day & Night, I toss and turn...." IDK the rest, but anyway i loved the adds!!
Run it
He seems sweet ... Kinda creepy he though across the hall. Lol he did that on purpose
Runnn it !
Elijah and I returned back from the grocery store with a handful of bags.
"hey let me help you" some voice said. I couldn't see with all the bags blocking my vision.
They grabbed two bags revealing the face of the guy at the front desk.
"uhh thanks"
"no problem" he lead the way to our apartment. of course he knows where we live.
We got to the door and I fished in my bag for the keys. I unlocked the door and held the door open for him to come in. We sat all the bags on the counter. I headed back to the door to let him out.
"dang you kicking me out?" he smirked
"yeah" I opened the door wider
"so I'll see you around" he walked out backwards
I squinted my eyes "are you like trying to hit on me?"
His eyes widened at my question "no. You just look like you have a background story. Taking care of your brother at 17, kind of odd. I'm just trying to be your friend" I nodded "besides I'm 23. I'm not tryna go to jail" we laughed.
"okay, maybe I'll hit you up the next time I need to make a confession"
"cool" he continued walking across the wall and opened the door.
"you live right there?" I said in shock
He chuckled "yeah. See you around" he waved and walked into his apartment.
I walked back inside and closed the door. I guess I could use a friend. I thought as I unpacked the groceries.
Omg they have a place to stay!!! I'm really happy for them. But it's sad that they had to leave their home. I know it had to be alot to take in. smh Run it!!!!
I drove for about another hour until I was out of Florida. We drove past a sign that said 'Welcome to Georgia'. I smiled to myself.
"I think I know where we're going Elijah"
"where!?" he yelled anxiously
"Atlanta, Georgia"
"is it nice their?"
"I don't know, we'll be finding out soon though"
Around 2:30 in the afternoon Ariel and Elijah arrived in the city of Atlanta, Georgia.
"Eli we're here" he stared out the window at all the trees, buildings, and southern homes.
"where's our house?"
I bit my bottom lip "ummm I don't know yet. You hungry?"
"yesssss"
"okay" I pulled over onto an exit to a rest stop. There was a waffle house so I drove into the parking lot and parked the car turning off the engine. I went around the backseat to get Elijah.
"you don't have to help me out every time. I can do it I'm a big boy" he stuck out his chest
"okay" I put my hands up.
We walked in sat down in a booth waiting for our waiter.
"hello welcome to the waffle house. I will be your waitress today, my name is Porsha" she said in her southern accent "what can I start you off with?" she popped her gum
"can we have two sweet tea's and do you have a copy of today's news paper?"
"yes, I'll be right back with your news paper and drinks"
She returned promptly with our drinks and my news paper. "are you ready to order!"
"yes, can he have a kids cheeseburger and fries and can I have the bacon chicken and cheese sandwich with fries" she wrote down the order and walked away
I began looking though the news paper for any apartment adds.
I circled on for $1,500 , $2,000, and $5,000. Hopefully the cheaper ones we're in good neighborhoods.
I sat their in daze thinking. My parents died three days ago. I've been on my own with My four year old brother for three days. And I'm doing pretty good so far. My mind wandered to a conversation me and my mom had.
"Honey, this world is cut throat. Once your own your own that's it. It's you against the world. Always stay on your toes and think smart. If you have to make for the moment decisions do it and don't regret it YOLO" she laughed at her imitation of Drake .
I snapped out of my thoughts just as the waitress came back with our food. She refilled our glasses and left. Elijah and I devoured our food. I didn't realize how hungry I was. I payed for the meal and left a tip on the table.
"what are we going to do today Ariel?"
"ummm we're going to look for a place to live"
He gasped "we don't have a place to live?"
"no not yet" I chuckled at his reaction.
I put the first address in my gps and drove to the location. We pulled up to the apartment complex with guys on every corner. I'm not sure if they were looking at me or my range rover. I kept driving the buildings looked worn out and in horrible condition. I circled the complex and exited with the same guys looking at us.
I put the next address in my gps and kept on going. The neighborhood was way better than the first. I parked my car and walked inside the rental office with Elijah. The women showed me around the complex everything was nice until we got to the actual apartment. Everywhere I turned I saw little tiny roaches and little pellets of poop. We headed to the last location of the day. We pulled up the apartments in awe. I found my way to the leasing office and walked in with Elijah.
"hi how may I help you" he said not making eye contact
"umm hi I'm looking to rent an apartment"
"how old are you"
"17"
"you have to be at least 18 to rent an apartment here" he finally looked up at me
"but I really need this place. I turn 18 in three months. It's just me and my brother" I pleaded
He looked down at Elijah who was looking around. "how old is he?"
"four"
"mhmm cute kid" he smiled a little "do you even have enough to pay the rent here. It's $5,000 for a fully furnished two bedroom apartment"
"yeah I got it. I can pay the first five months right now"
"you have $25,000 on you right now" I nodded
"I'm not even gonna ask just fill out these papers" he handed me the leasing papers.
I sighed in relief and began to fill out the papers. After about twenty minutes I handed him the papers back.
"okay now go get the magical $25,000" I went out to my car and got the money. I handed it to him and he looked at me like I was crazy
"this better be real money" He put it in a money counter machine thingy
"it is" I responded dryly
"okay, it's all here. this is your address, welcome home" he gave a fake smile and handed me the keys "oh and I'm Andre' if you need anything call me. I live around here" he handed me his card.
"thanks" I walked off with Elijah following behind.
I drove around the corner to the address.Elijah and I grabbed all the suitcases and rolled them inside. We walked to the second floor and unlocked the door to our new home.
"you like it?" I looked down at Eli
"yeah it's nice" he plopped down on the couch.
I plopped down next to him and tickled him "good. Now let's go unpack"
Omg I wonder where they are gonna go. I hope they stay safe!! They can't live in motels forever. I just want them to be safe. I don't think she kidnapped her brother. Even though their parents are dead and they are both minors. I don't think they became wards of the state yet. I know she can take care of them. Anyway, let's hope she can keep him.
I finally caught up. OMG she escaped!!! I know she can take care of Elijah, but damn could've left a note or something.
Run it
I drove for about 3 hours and stopped at a hotel in Orlando. I took about $500 out and put it in my wallet. I went into the trunk and pulled out an outfit for me and Elijah and put it in my duffle bag. Swung the bag over my shoulder and put Elijah on my hip and carried him inside.
"good evening welcome to the comfort inn" the women at the front desk greeted
"hi, can I have a room for one night with one bed please"
"okay that will be $250" I handed her the money and she handed me the key card " your in room 350. Check out is before 10am and there is a free continental breakfast at 8"
"thank you" I smiled and walked towards the elevator.
I found the room, walked inside and laid Eli down on the bed. I took off his shoes, socks, and pants and put him under the covers.
I took off my shorts. Leaving me in my t shirt from earlier. I undid my bun letting my hair fall freely. I went into the bathroom and washed my face. I looked at my reflection seeing my red puffy eyes from crying. My face looks completely drained. I dried my face and climbed into the bed with Elijah.
I had a million thoughts running through my head.
did I run away Or kidnap my brother? where are we going? I hope I can really provide a good life for him? I shook the thoughts and got comfortable and drifted off to sleep.
I woke up to Elijah watching cartoons. I sat up and wiped the crust from my eyes.
"Eli I'm gonna go get breakfast" he nodded not paying me any attention
"can you take a shower by yourself"
"yeah, but can you turn the water on for me" I got up and turned the water on.
"okay the water is on. I'll be right back" Eli got up and started moving towards the bathroom
I went downstairs and got us each some pancakes, bacon and orange juice. And then headed back upstairs.
When I came back up Eli was still in the shower singing as long as you love me by Justin Bieber. I chuckled to myself and set up his breakfast on the bedside table then laid out his clothes on the bed.
Elijah came out with his towel wrapped around him and put on his underwear and tshirt then began eating his breakfast with me.
"do you know where we're going yet?"
"no not yet. Maybe when we start driving again."
"is that lady gonna be mad that we left?"
"Maybe, I don't know" I dabbed the corners of my mouth "finish eating and get dressed. After I get dressed we're gonna leave again" he nodded his head
"okay" he said with his mouth full
I got in the shower and washed yesterday off. I came out and brushed my teeth and pulled my hair into a tight bun. I got dressed and walked out and saw Elijah dressed and ready to go.
"ready" he nodded and leaped off the bed.
I gathered our dirty clothes and toiletries and stuffed them into my duffle bag. I Grabbed the room key and headed down to the front desk.
"did you have a nice stay" the women at the front desk smiled
"yes thank you" I handed back the room key.
I made sure Elijah was secured in the back seat and threw the duffle bag in the front seat and put on my seatbelt. I started up the car and continued driving north to wherever.
Omg thank god she found the money and they left. The money should hold them over for a while until they can get settled. I hope she took birth certificates and ssn too!! I wouldn't want Ariel and Elijah to be separated. Please let them be ok.
I apologize for the typo's I should definitely learn to proof read lol
Go head witcha bad self *starts singing Tupac "I ain't mad at cha"*
She better kidnap her brother! *starts clappin*
Run It!!
*raider bball team clap* YEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHH (you hip lol)
Thats what I'm talking about. Smart move very smart !!!
Runnnn It!!
I sat in my dads office spinning in his chair.
how is she just gonna take me and my brother away. My parents only died yesterday. Can we atleast get a funeral. Say our final goodbyes. My life just flashed before my eyes and now they're trying to take me away from what I know. What if Elijah grows up to be some f***ed up gang banger because they want to put us in the system.
"Ughhh" I groaned
Hmmm I wonder if my dad kept the bank account numbers somewhere in here
I began going through his filling cabinets. I found the file labeled "bank"
thank god
I pulled out and opened it.
go to safe<\em>
"what the actual f***!" I yelled "we don't even have a damn safe"
"Ariel!" Elijah came running in "are you okay?"
"yeah Eli, I'm okay" I smiled
"then why are you yelling?" he came and sat on my lap
"because dad told me we had a bank account but the numbers are in the file. It's just safe 'go to safe' but we don't even have a safe"
"yes we do"
"no we don't"
"yes we do, daddy showed me"
"wait? What? When?" I was beyond confused
"he showed me when we were getting ready for your graduation. That's where your keys were"
"okay hold on" I ran back to the filling cabinet to look for a file that said safe. And there it was. I opened it and there was the code
"Elijah do remember where the safe is?" he nodded his head
"come on show me"
he walked out the room and went upstairs to the master bedroom.He continued walking into the walk in closet. He began pushing his dads clothes out the way to reveal the safe.
"get the f*** outa here. All them times playing hide and go seek I never saw this"
I crowtched down onto the floor and began to slowly put the code in.
17 right 45 left and 27 right. The green light appeared and the safe popped open.
"oh my gosh" my mouth fell open
"dad said this money is only for emergencies"
"this is an emergency" I grabbed all the money which was one hundred thousand dollars. "Elijah go get two suit cases. One for some toys and the other for clothes and shoes. Okay, go pack" he nodde his head.
I took the money into my room and threw it into one of my PINK VS duffle bags. I then took the bags and started putting any snacks that I could find.
My heart and mind was racing.
I finished packing whatever food I could find and raced back upstairs to get my suitcases. I packed my clothes, shoes and our toiletries and our photo albums . I put my bags by the garage door. I went back up to Elijah's room to see him putting his clothes into both suitcases.
"you don't want any toys?" he shook his head
"is there anything that mommy and daddy gave you that you want to keep forever"
Elijah pulled out his chain that my parents gave him for christmas. He thought he was so cool walking around the house screaming one chain. That's when I remembered my charm bracelet and my grandmothers pearl earrings that she left me.
I walked back into his room "are you ready?"
"where are we going? I thought the lady was coming in the morning"
"we're leaving tonight and I don't know where we're going yet"
"but the lady said she was gonna find a nice family for us"
"do you want to live with me forever?" he nodded his head
"then you have to come with me so we can find a nice place together"
He smiled "okay" and grabbed his bags.
It's was ten minutes to 8 and the sun was setting. I packed up my range with our four suit cases and put the duffle bag up front with me. I strapped Elijah in his seat securely.
"I'll be right back I have to check if I forgot anything" he nodded his head
I walked around the house one more time making sure I had everything that we would need for the time being. I grabbed us our polo hoodies and matching hats incase it cold where ever we were going. I locked the front door and made my way back to the garage. I got in the car started it up. I played some drake's take album since it was peaceful and could ease my mind and Elijah liked him. I locked the car doors and opened the garage as I backed out the drive way. We made our way down the road in any direction as night fell upon us.
Thank you ladies!!!
I will add again in maybe an hour but first I must add to my other story Lost Souls. check it out if you haven't already.
*blows kisses* run it
When she come back they just shouldnt open the door .. Simple.
Better yet how about ms.greene adopt them since she all up in they s***.... *waits for response* I didnt think so.
Let my girl hold it down for her and the brodie.
Runnn It !!!
I kinda just want them to run away so they don't have to get separated or put in foster care!!! I know she can take care of Elijah herself. smh This is just so sad!!
Nooooo!!! ms.Greene better make it so they won't get seperated. Why Ariel out of all people!!
Run it
omgggg !! the girl is 17, why cant she have her little brother. I cant believe her parents died tho. They better not get separated cause Mrs. Greene will get round house kicked around this muthaf***a. run this s***!
"mommy, daddy come back!!!" Elijah screamed in his sleep.
I hopped up and pulled him into my arms rocking him back and forth as he called down.
"Ariel are mommy and daddy gone forever?" he looked up at me.
It broke my heart that I had to tell him the truth.
I nodded my head "yes but I'm gonna take care of you okay, I promise" I hugged him tighter as I cried
He climbed up and wrapped his little arms around and hugged me " you always take care of me because you're my sister"
I smiled to myself "yeah, I got you and you got me. Right?" he nodded his head and we did our handshake that we came up with at the beach only a few hours ago. I continued to rock him until we both fell asleep.
I woke up around eight to see Elijah playing with his toys on the floor.
We can't get sent to a foster home. We definitely won't be living like this anymore. I shook my head at the thought.
"come on Elijah lets take a bath"
"I'm four!! I don't take baths anymore"
"so you wanna take a shower" he nodded his head
"but you can still wash me up" he ran out the room.
I followed suit into the bathroom. I turned the shower on to the perfect temperature then undressed him. I washed Elijah up being gentle on his few scraps from the accident. I washed his hair then dried him off.
"okay now go get dressed" he ran out the bathroom laughing.
I took my shower and washed my hair. Once I was finished I went into my room to get dressed. I just threw on a t shirt and some shorts and put my hair into a ponytail. I went into Elijah's room to see him dressed and playing on the floor. I smiled to myself he had great taste for a four year old.
I continued playing Elijah until the doorbell rang.
I sighed deeply "who's that?" Elijah asked standing up.
We walked down the steps together and opened the door for Ms.Greene. She smiled at me then down at Elijah who was hiding behind my leg.
"ready?"
"as I'll ever be" I grabbed my bag and lead Elijah outside to her car.
We sat down at a table at ihop eating our breakfast. She tried to make small talk but only got one word answers.
"okay let's talk about your options" Ms.Greene sat her fork down. "We can either try to find a family member because their has to be one somewhere or I can place you in a nice foster home."
I took my last bite and say my fork down "or I can take care of me and my brother myself"
"your underage" she stated
"I'm 17 and I just graduated from high school two months ago"
"I'm sorry Ariel"
"we don't have anyone. And you want to put us in a foster home that's gonna chew us up and spit us out" I shook my head "what's gonna happen when someone wants to adopt Elijah and not his sister huh? What's gonna happen Elijah doesn't even have me anymore?" I hissed
"I can make it so you two don't get separated" I crossed my arms
"whatever"
She drove us back to the house. We sat in the car for a moment before she said something.
"I'm not trying to ruin your life. I'm just doing my job. I'll let you two sleep here tonight but you need to pack somethings and I'll be back to get you tomorrow afternoon"
I nodded my head "okay" I whispered
I got out the car and let Elijah out and practically ran to the front door. I walked in and looked at the house talking in my last moments here.
my whole world is crashing down
Omg that is soooo sad!!! I'm glad she convinced the social worker to let them stay at home for the night. I don't want them to get separated!! I hope everything can turn out for the best. Plz run it!!!
Omd! This is so sad! I think she would be and amazing mother/sister for her baby brother. I really hope that that's one of her options.
Run It.