11 years ago

"You good for nothing brats, go on beat it," The rain was coming down now as the three young children were forced out of the house by a large man with a beer can in his felt hand. "You can come back in when your mother comes back from work."

The door slams as the three look over at each other.

"He's drunk again," The older boy stated as he looked over at his younger brother and twin sister.

"What are we going to do?" The younger boy asked, "It's raining out."

"At last we don't get beat," The sister stated, "A little rain never hurt anybody. Leroy, Marshall, let's go play."

Her twin, Marshall, nodded with a smile, "Hey look over there," He gestured towards an old construction site, "Nobody's working so let's go check it out. Come on!" Marshall called over his shoulder as he ran towards the chain link fence that separated them from the site.

"Marceline,"

"Yeah" Marceline turned her head slightly as they followed the other boy.

"Why does dad always forget that mom died when he gets drunk?" Leroy asked his older sister. Marceline thought for a moment before shrugging.

"I don't know."

"Come on you two!" Marshall called as he revealed the break in the fence he had found. The two followed through the fence and into the site; by now all their clothes were wet. Black hair was stuck to their foreheads as they looked around the site.

"Come on," Marceline called as she walked over to the first brick wall, "Give me a lift,"

Marshall walked over giving his sister a leg up over the wall. Marceline stood at the top and helped the other two up. They walked through the building before coming across cement stairs.

"Last one ups a rotten egg," Marshall called as the tree raced up the steps, giggling as they tried to beat each other to the top.

"No fair Marshall!" Leroy called as he felt Marshall give him a push out of the way, getting to the top before him. Marceline had already beaten her two brothers to the top and smirked at the two's bickering.

"Come on," Marceline called as she weaved through a series of metal poles before disappearing. Marshall and Leroy ran to keep up moving through the metal poles with ease. Leroy noticed a piece of wood leading down off the cement platform and back down to the muddy ground. Marceline was smirking at the two before crawling through a large pipe, disappearing from view again.

"Marcy, come back," Marshall stated as he slid down the board trying to keep up with his sister. Leroy followed as well, laughing as Marshall knocked his head against the pipe as he walked through. On the other side was a side of the building that was currently in construction that was covered with steel beams.

"What did you stop here?" Marshall teased as he started climbing up the beams, "Let's go!"

Marceline and Leroy followed, the rain not affecting their ability to climb up the metal beams. Leroy panted as he tried to keep up with his older siblings as they reached the top of the metal. Marshall helped Marceline up before offering a hand out to Leroy.

Once all three were at the top Marshall looked around the edge before a cocky smile took place on his young seven year old face.

"Bet you I can jump to that platform over there." Marshall stated pointing to the other cement platform a while off, a little lower than the one they were one now. Not waiting for a response from his siblings, he ran towards the edge jumping off before gliding in the air and landing safely on the other side.

"I go first!" Leroy announced as he jumped after Marshall, Marceline smirked as she watched Leroy jump over, Marshall reached out to help their younger sibling cross. Marceline started toward the ledge leaping before trying to land on the other side. The slippery concrete was not as forgiving as she felt herself slip, her shin hitting the edge as Marshall and Leroy grab her arms to keep her from falling to her death. "You're bleeding!"

At the sound of Leroy's voice Marceline looks down at her shin to see a nice sized cut, red body fluid running down her leg. "It's nothing,"

Marshall took off his bandana and wrapped it around her leg knowing they couldn't go home to have their dad look at it. "Come on, let's get down from here."Marshall stated as he looked over the ledge seeing that they were fairly close to the ground now. The siblings climbed down the side of the platform, landing on the mud soaked ground.

"Let's play something else." Marshall stated, "How about hide and seek?"

"I wanna hide!" Leroy announced.

"Marcy you can count!" Marshall stated, "You shouldn't get you cut too dirty."

Marceline agreed before covering her eyes with her arm. She could hear the other two scurry off to hide.

"1"

"2"

"3"

"4"

"5"

"6"

"7"

"8"

"9"

"10"

"Help"

"11"

"12"

"13"

"14"

"15"

"Help" Marceline paused at the sound. Was she hearing things? It kinda sounded like Leroy, but Marshall should be with him right?

"16"

"17"

"18"

"19"

"20, ready or not here I come" Marceline stated as she looked around the yard.

"Help"

"LEROY" Marceline called as she heard the voice again. She looked around trying to pinpoint the noise. The rain wasn't making it any easier as she ran towards the noise. Where was Marshall? He was supposed to be with Leroy.

"Marceline" Marshall called as the other twin turned to see Marshall hunched over a pipe, as she got closer she could see Leroy's arm grabbing onto Marshall's hand. He was in a storm drain. The panic hit the other sibling as she ran over. "He got his leg stuck."

"The water's rising." Leroy added as he choked on water.

"Hang on, I'll go get help!" Marceline stated as she turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her back towards the house. The rain hit her face hard as her old sneakers became crusted with mud. Her socks and feet also became soaked as she ran through deep puddles. She could see their dad sitting on the porch with a beer in his hand.

"DAD, dad come quick, Leroy needs you!" Marceline yelled as she grabbed her dad's arm trying to pull him back towards her brothers.

"Get off me"

"Dad please, he'll die!"

"Good, one less whiny mouth to feed!" He replied as he swung his arm, knocking Marceline off and into a mud puddle. Marceline jumped to her feet and ran back toward her brothers. Marshall looked up at her when she got back.

"He's not coming!" Marceline stated as she kneeled near Marshall looking at the hopeless look Leroy was giving her and her brother.

"Help me" Marshall stated as Marceline grabbed Leroy's other arm. The two continued to pull the younger one, but his leg was too stuck. Two trapped between metal and mud that they couldn't get him out.

Headline: Parental Abuse! Leroy Abadeer Died Holding the Hands of his Siblings

Headline: Leroy Abadeer Drowned in Rainwater Result of a Neglectful Father

Headline: 5 Year Old Leroy Died Due to Neglect, One Sibling Hospitalized

Headline: Surviving Abadeer Twins Placed in Foster Care

"Never forget me, Marcy, Marsh"

Chapter One: Present Day

"Twenty seven foster homes," A middle-aged man murmured as he looked over the two thick files, "they couldn't stick with a single home for more than six months."

The other woman in the room who was currently placing books on a bookshelf turned to him. "They can't go to another foster home now can they?"

"They turn 18 this year." Simon stated as he flipped through the file. "They've been through more foster homes than anyone else here, got kicked out of three public schools, five private schools. We've moved them around more than any other kid in this program, Symonia. Both of them have served time in juvenile detention. I don't know what else to do to keep them out of trouble."

"They need a family," Symonia stated, "A real family, they behave when they're here with you and Betty. They're good when Ben and I are here."

"They're not children anymore," Simon rested his head on his hand, "They have one year to shape up. Then they leave the program."

"And what happens then? They go to jail after they get in trouble."

"I can't let that happen." Simon stated, "We need to find a place that won't give up on them."

"Pen Ward High,"

"What?"

"Well Little Brother, I already thought ahead and transferred them to Pen Ward High School. He's agreed to allow them to stay the whole school year as long as they are reasonably good. He's read through their file and understands the stress that must come with loosing so many family members. Although he cannot promise to keep them there the whole year, he doesn't seem like the type to not give them a fair shake."

"They've had many fair shakes."

"Don't let them mess this up," Symonia stated, "Or it's all over for them."

! #$%^&*()_

Marshall drove the old black Subaru into the small narrow driveway. Simon had insisted that since the two had to shape up before the end of the year that they needed to stay in their own place in order to teach them some responsibility for their actions.

"Mr. Petrikov really chewed our ears out about shaping up." Marshall growled as he opened the car door to get out. It was a small townhouse that Simon had insisted the two stay in. It was small but when they only had two people there really wasn't much need for room anyway. Marceline got out of the car next, looking over at the house.

"He's right," Marceline stated as she walked to Marshall's side, "If we screw up we won't be together anymore. They'll separate us."

"I know," Marshall stated before offering his sister a smile, "We'll just have to change some things so we can stay together."

"So, let's crack open some paint and start unpacking."

"Sounds like a plan" Marceline agreed as she fished out her key that Simon had given her to open the front door. They didn't have much to their names so unpacking was sure to be a short-lived task. She opened the door and looked into the small living space. This really was their last chance.

"Home sweet home"

Marshall and Marceline spent most of their first day painting the townhouse to their liking. The space was separated into three floors. The first floor was the tiny garage and an office space. The second was the kitchen and living room area. The top floor was the two bedrooms and a bathroom. They left the kitchen as it was and painting the living room white with a light green accent wall. Marshall painted his room midnight blue. Marceline decided on a crimson color for her room, one of the walls was painted black to accent the red. They turned the office area into a storage room for all their instruments. Marshall took care into setting up his drum set the way he liked. His guitars were placed on one side of the room while Marceline's basses were placed on the other. A Keyboard was hooked up on a desk with a recording machine. A couple other odd instruments joined their vast collection.

A banjo and a ukulele hung from the wall. Various smaller instruments such as maracas and tambourines sat on shelves. A saxophone leaned up against the wall while a violin sat on a lower self. Sheet music and blank sheets took up the rest of the space.

"We have more instruments than anything else." Marceline murmured as they finished unpacking their instruments. Marshall shrugged with a smile. He seemed to be getting more and more into this new life thing. He helped Marceline carry an old couch up to the family area and an old reclining chair. They had a small entertainment unit that could house a TV. A kitchen table and the chairs were next to come into the house as well as the pots and pans. Other kitchen stuff was unpacked by Marceline while Marshall unpacked some old pictures. In no time the entertainment unit was filled with movies and DVDS. Rock posters were hung up and the kitchen was ready to use, minus having food, and all the rest of their things were in their rooms.

Most of what they had were bought from their dead end jobs they managed to get since they were still part of Simon and Betty's Foster Children of America program. They got all their things from thrift shops or bought things cheap from flea markets and fixed it up themselves. No one knew how to spread money like the Abadeer twins could. They got the most for every dollar they spent.

"We should get to the market." Marceline stated as she looked in the empty fridge. "We can finish unpacking when we get back."

"Sounds like a plan." Marshall stated as he jumped up from his spot arranging movies on the shelf. "How much do we have for food?"

"$200," Marceline stated as Marshall nodded. Marceline was in charge of keeping track of money, their paychecks and the allowance they got from the Foster care program. Marceline was good with money; Marshall was too much of an impulsive person to get too concerned about it. It was easier for him if Marceline gave him a number.

They got to the small family market by four in the evening. Both a little tired after their big move in.

"What's for dinner?" Marshall asked as he pushed the cart down the aisle.

"I was thinking spaghetti," Marceline replied as she picked up a box off the shelf as they walked past "Any objections?"

"Nope" Marshall responded with a lopsided grin "Sounds good to me."