The smell of alcohol was overpowering. Scratch that almost overpowering, the smell of marijuana wafted down the hall and the nasty chemical smell was beginning to overtake the alcohol. A siren blared in the distance and that's when the screaming started. Bottles broke and the bathroom door was slammed shut and locked. The Febrezze commercials are very misleading because even they couldn't cover this odor. It was just booze, meth, and Mr. Taylor's weed. Mr. Taylor had once been a well liked science teacher, until he got busted for having sex with a student. If the rumors were true he literally fucked her on the Biology how life is made display. Now he smoked pot, cooked meth like an unlikable Walter White, drank, and hooked up with anything with a vagina and a pulse. Kaylin groaned, picked up her book, and tried to study. It took seconds for her to realize this was a futile attempt. She heard a crash and then a barrage of curses. The siren drew closer and Kaylin knew that there was about to be major trouble. The siren drew eerily close and then came to an abrupt halt. Red and blue flashed outside the window. Kaylin could see that it was not a fire-truck or an ambulance. She picked up the crucifix and held it close, praying they weren't coming to the apartment. She heard footsteps charging towards her door, she desperately wished that the lock was still there. The door swung open and her "father" rushed in.
"GIRL!" The large drunk man bellowed.
"What?" Kaylin asked.
"Did you call the cops?! Did you rat on us?! That lab's all we got!" Her father bellowed.
"I didn't call the cops." Kaylin replied.
"Oh yeah? Just like you didn't tell your teacher I was hitting you?!" Her father snapped.
"Dad, she knew it was a hand-print! I panicked! But I did not call the police!" Kaylin snapped.
"George! They're here!" Her step-mother shouted.
"GOD DAMMIT!" George snapped.
"It was you! You worthless little Judas!" Her step-mother snapped.
"Get in your wheelchair! Annabel They take pity on cripples!" George cried.
"Hospital took the damn thing last week. No thanks to her." Annabel scoffed.
What did she do now?!" George demanded.
"Nothing!" Kaylin cried.
"She let them take it!" Annabel snapped.
"What was I supposed to do? The hospital gives that chair to people who are hurt or sick and can't afford one." Kaylin explained.
"My knee is hurt darling? Don't you care?" Annabel demanded.
"Your doctor told you to start walking months ago. You only use the chair to get sympathy." Kaylin reminded.
"Sympathy's what keeps us safe. You think we got money to feed ya and keep the lights on? We don't! We get some with the lab but we payin off a lot of bills. We don't got money they gonna send you away. You wanna be in foster care? You think it's bad here. Just see them foster homes." Anabel explained.
"Except I haven't eaten!" Kaylin snapped.
"You worthless little!" George cried, raising his bottle.
Kaylin ducked as the bottle drew closer to her head but Annabel grabbed her and held her in restraint. Knowing there was no way out. She closed her eyes and braced for impact. The bottle made contact with her head and shattered into pieces on the floor. Kaylin's head ached worse than it ever had before and she went crashing to the floor. She felt the broken glass cutting her skin and tearing her shirt. The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was the sound of a frantic pounding on the front door. It was official, the police had finally caught on to the meth lab her parents shared with Mr. Taylor from next door.
When she first woke up, Kaylin was convinced that she was dead. Everything was white and smelled so clean. Her proof of life was the rhythmic beep of a heart monitor. She looked up and saw a woman in bright pink scrubs, holding a clipboard.
"Oh wonderful! You are awake!" The woman cried.
"Where am I?" Kaylin asked.
"You are in the hospital sweetheart." The woman replied.
"Who are you? What happened?" Kaylin asked.
"I am Britney your nurse. I am not sure what happened but you were found unconscious in your bedroom, a beer bottle was broken underneath you." Britney explained.
"Where are my parents?" Kaylin asked, heart racing. The last thing she needed was for them to be pissed at her again.
"Your parents were arrested on drug charges and from the looks of it we can add child abuse and neglect to the list." Britney explained.
"So they are locked up? They can't hurt me again?" Kaylin asked.
"Unlikely, they are looking at hefty sentences and that is without what they will get if found guilty of hurting you." Britney explained.
"What happens now?" Kaylin asked.
"We will search for relatives but if nobody is found you will be placed in foster care." Britney explained.
"When do I get out of here? What if we don't find somebody before I get out?" Kaylin asked.
"You will be here for a couple of days at least. You have a concussion." Britney replied.
"What do I do now? Can I sleep?" Kaylin asked.
"Sleep is actually what you need right now. Get some rest, I will call back later." Britney replied.
Waking up was far less pleasant the second time. This time Kaylin's head was aching again and her throat burned from thirst. She reached for the glass of water and greedily gulped it down. The water helped but she was still thirsty. She pressed the call button that sat beside the bed. She heard voices coming from down the hall.
"What's going to happen to Kaylin?" A male voice asked.
"She has no living relatives." Britney replied.
"So we call child services?" The man asked.
"We found her mother's will. It was the mother's wish that should anything happen to George. Kaylin would be released to the care of her mother's best friend." Britney explained.
"Do we have a name?" The man asked.
"Anthony DiNozzo, Junior he is currently residing in Washington DC." Britney explained.
A.N: What do you think? Any idea who Kaylin's mother was? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.