Blood Ties

Running away is everything I've been doing my entire life. Before that I only had to run away from the bullies at school, but now I have to do it from my father and, to be honest, that wasn't too hard. In school you can always hide, swap schedules, or in the worst case swap school. Yu can also outsmart the bullies; they were bigger than every other kid in the classroom because they had repeated so many school years they were still in eighth grade. Some of them even started to grow a beard. But their brains would remain the same size, if not shrink.

Whatever, stupid idiots.

And from my father… well, it was easy: when ten of your sisters try to take you to bed every fucking minute of the day, and have three of your daughters begging you to fuck their brains out, you don't have enough time to spend with your heavy metal-loving faggot son.

So that was covered; the few times his old man tried to spend time with him, he'd only have to make up an excuse or just leave the house, basically run away just like now, but this time he was running away from himself, and man, that was hard.

It started a couple months ago; it was like a voice inside his head, or a current of electricity running through his body. In the beginning it was soft, almost inaudible, but as time passed, it turned into a scream, a cry from deep within his soul telling him to…

He wouldn't dare to finish it. Not even in his mind he would pronounce those words.

So he had to run away, he had to escape from the cries of his little sister, Lizy.

Lulu and Lizy were the only sisters he felt comfortable with, or maybe they felt comfortable with him, who knows?

The others… well; the others hated him, didn't they? Yup, they hated him. Well girls, I have some news: I hate myself too and maybe even more now. I probably lost the only sister who I could talk with. There was Lulu, but she couldn't talk yet. Well, she couldn't talk any known language, but she made that noise like… Have you ever heard the sound of the cicadas in the summer nights? It was something like that.

Now I'm rambling again; I've been doing it very often lately, so if you see I'm getting out of topic, please take me back to earth, a slap in the back of the neck might do it. Hey boy, focus on the story, something like that.

Maybe I should start smoking less…

So here we go, walking to nowhere, just escaping from everything like I've been doing my whole life. Where should I go? Should I go to IHOP? The dumper was a good option as well. You might not know, but people get rid of a lot of shit that's still functional, relics that their parents and grandparents conserved for many years, But millennial who now are adults, (at least the ones without the privilege of getting a Darwin award), get rid of them because bruh, this thing doesn't have a touch screen, it doesn't costs ten times what it should.

Fucking idiots, but that was a good thing, at least for him. Have you ever heard the saying 'a man's trash is another man's treasure?' It was true, and Lemy had a lot of treasures thanks to jump over the dumper bars.

Well, maybe what he had was trash, but hey, it was good trash, like that SONY PS-11W, a goddamn turntable from the 70's, that thing was collectable, and someone threw it just because the needle was missing, the fucking needle! It wasn't even broken. Thank god it was wrapped in a bunch of newspapers and was intact. If it was broken because someone dumped it like a beer can he'd be mad. So there you got me, in my little hole my father calls "my room". I have one of the most desired turntables by the collectors; suck that Lupa, always messing me when I'm fixing my stuff. Who fixed your ZIPPO when Leia threw it to the floor? Was it Daddy? That pedo old man fixed it? Was it him, Lupa?

Nope, it was me. I'm the only one who fixes everything in the goddamn house. Well, aunt Lana take care of the cars, but if it wasn't by me, we wouldn't have a fridge, a microwave, and a dozen of things, including Loan's expensive consoles (sometimes she gets a little too salty and starts throwing kicks like a horse)

But is that enough? Nope, and it doesn't matter how much of a good brother I am, or how many things I fix around the house, all they all care about is…

Anybody would think that living in a family with ten adults working full time, money wouldn't be a problem. But as fast as we make money, we spend it. Two dozen people can eat a lot, you know?

And I'm rambling again; I thought we had a deal man. Now I'm in front of the Royal Woods mall.

It's weird, you know? Normally, when I get lost in my thought as I walk, I end up in IHOP, but I guess it only happens when I lose myself in the forest.

Half an hour later Lemy walked around the locals, observing without much interest shelves with expensive and useless things. He passed a book store that showed the top best sellers of the moment in its entrance. A lot of teenager bullshit. Lemy didn't know a fuck about literature, those were Aunt Lucy's domains, but he knew something: 500 shades of Gray was a very expensive toilet paper.

If you want something that's actually worth reading, you have to go inside the alley on Ohio St. There was a huge space with several locals selling good stuff. You had a second hand store with lots of old and new things: from clothing of all ages, to a store with electronics devices; from the oldest to the newest. There was also a Mexican food stand; he wasn't a fan though, once he ate there and the waiter recommended him to taste their new sauce. But he didn't tell him it was habanero sauce. He spent fifteen minutes inside the bathroom, burning from south to north.

He had a favorite one: the bookstore.

The whole place looked like it was taken from a Harry Potter movie, on the outside it looked like an old house, but in the inside it was huge, filled with shelves and books about everything you might think. That was the good stuff, all you had to do was look in the shelves full of yellowish and dusty books and you'd find whatever you're looking for.

Remember a man's trash? Well, it applies here too, because the owner said some of those books were donated from people who didn't need them anymore but knew someone might.

I remember when Aunt Lucy took me along with Lyra and Lupa for the first time; it was great not just for the books, but because I spend time with my sisters and aunt. It was before I started to…

Come on man, don't lose your composure. It wasn't easy, tho; it was like a sore on the lip: it hurts, and if you tease it, it will hurt even more and it'll become bigger, but for some fucking reason you can't stop licking it.

He walked through a big clothing store; this stuff wasn't much of his liking: t-shirts with the word DOPE written across the chest. Ripped, skinny pants so tight you could hear your balls scream for help if you put them. Sneakers with a marihuana leaf on the side… it all had the word 'posser' metaphorically written all over. If that's how people dress nowadays, he'd rather keep his vest and bandana.

He lost interest quickly, but something else caught his attention: a huge poster on the window with a blonde girl showing off her killing curves wearing a formal pink dress. Yup, that was Aunt Lola for sure, wearing that little dress, showing her long, beautiful legs with a Mona Lisa-like smile and beautiful blue eyes inviting you to sin.

Aunt Lola did pretty well in life, you know? She, unlike my mother, didn't stop modeling when she got pregnant. She even posed for a lingerie brand when she had 8 months of pregnancy, and for fuck sake, she proved that maternity and sensuality can get along.

Anyway, it's not like he did an exhaustive research of his aunt on the internet, and definitely he didn't touched himself thinking about her being pregnant of his little sister Leia.

He was about to leave, when someone called him.

"What are you doing, freak? You're jacking off in public while thinking in your aunt? Don't you have enough fucking her in your house?"

Lemy sighed, begging for strength to a god he didn't believed in.

There we go. Remember I mentioned some bullies? Well, here they are.

Lemy didn't turn his head, he just straight ignored them.

"Come on, abomination, we're talking to you"

The voice was different now. There are three of these monkeys, their names? Does it matter? Well, from left to right: Idiot1, idiot2, and very idiot.

Lemy finally turn his head. Who would've guessed? In front of him were The Three Stooges.

"About fucking time, what is it? Aren't we good enough for you? It's because our parents are not siblings? Doesn't your father let you talk with people he hasn't fucked?"

He had to give them that, they knew where to hit. Luckily it all was like everything, you get used to it.

"Actually, I'm not allowed to talk with virgins, so pardon me if I'm being rude"

Idiot1 and Idiot2 clutched their fists with anger. Very Idiot remained silent; he didn't seem understand what was happening, he was just waiting for Idiot1 to tell him what to do. He was a well-trained dog, except for the part where he gets a treat.

"And don't worry; I was leaving already, so you can see my aunt better 'cause, well, it'll be the closest you will be to a top model. I'm going to my house; you know, maybe my mother wants to 'jam' with me before her concert tonight. You can ask your father to take you to the bar… Oh, I'm sorry; I totally forgot you don't have a father"

Idiot1's face was red with anger; imaginary smoke busted from his ears but he didn't dare to do something, not in a place full of people and security cameras. He made a signal with his head and his dogs got the cue. They left the place.

Lemy sighed; he won the battle, but the next Monday he'd pay at school.

He'd take it any time over the pain of disappointing his sister. Honestly.

He walked with the hope of evade a specific site, an oasis in the middle of all this mediocrity and consumerism: The music store.

But, why would Lemy even think on avoid a store dedicated to his hobby?

Well, because…

Lemy's thinking process stopped working like a windows program when he walked in front of the toy store: expensive, top notch products to more rudimentary crafted toys adorned its walls; a few years ago he stopped playing with cars and action figures. He wasn't a kid anymore, and what got his attention wasn't something for him.

It was a dinosaur, a big, hyperrealist dinosaur that looked like a T-Rex, but much more threatening and dangerous. It was fucking scary; with those fangs and long arms… bastard was ugly.

It was perfect, fucking perfect. Lizy would love it.

He approached at the shelf and saw the figure on its package; it must be 30 inches long and 20 inches tall. This thing was almost as big as Lizy and… man just look at that, is that a remote? Yup, it is. This Jurassic monster can move!

There was no price in sight; this thing had to be fucking expensive. He knew this guy wasn't cheap, and his wallet was already anticipating the punch.

"It's the Indominus Rex from the Jurassic World movie. You know the movie from 2015 directed by Colin Trevorrow" The guy behind the counter told him. He was tall, a little chubby with a long beard. His black polo shirt had the logo of the store. He seemed to know a lot about this, and it looks like he totally enjoys his work.

Lemy liked that. You can have a passion, something you enjoy doing like collecting stones, bird watching or jacking off to cartoon ponies (thanks God nobody in his house do something like that), but you have to do it well; go deeper, hit the gas, learn about it and become an expert. Lemy grew up surrounded by committed and passionate people, everyone doing something different, but all of them were devoted and proud of it. Fuck what everyone else thinks. Look at this guy, he seems to like toys, and he has his own store and work in what he loves. Lemy respected that.

"I dunno man, I'm more of Tarantino and Stanley Kubrick, but my little sister loves dinosaur movies, dinosaurs in general. How much do you want for it?"

"$250"

Okay, he didn't like this guy anymore.

Lemy left that place with his head down and his fists balled. Shit, he couldn't even buy a gift for his little sister. He really was useless; he deserved all the hate of his sisters.

If he weren't a lazy-ass, or if he looked for a job instead of waste his time picking up trash or smoking weed, maybe he would have money and… That's it, his trash!

Of course, he had valuable stuff in his house, remember? He even could sell something on the internet, a collector would pay good money for them, and he needed the money now.

I know what you're thinking: does it matter if you give her the goddamn toy tomorrow or in three days? It does matter. I can hear Lizy's cries already, and you know? It hurts like a knife directly to the heart, and I don't know about you, but if someone stabbed you in the heart, would you wait three days to take it out? Well, there you got your answer. I will not stand longer knowing my little sister is sad. I've been like that for two hours and it's too much. I will not hold it any longer.

So, I think I will have to go to that place, the music store.

I don't want to go there man… okay, maybe I want to go, a little too much, and that's the reason I don't want to go. I know, it sounds stupid, but I have no choice, so let's get this over with.

Lemy walked with slow, unsure pace through the stairs that lead to the second floor of the mall. A couple of minutes passed until he reached his destination. The building was beautiful; it was black with a neon guitar on top, music instruments behind the crystals. It wasn't just a music store; it was the heaven on earth of every music lover.

And if he could, he'd spend his entire life there, if it weren't for…

"Lemy!" a beautiful voice flew like a butterfly to his ears.

There you have the reason why I love this place, but also the reason I don't want to come here.

"Hey Lina" Come on boy, stay cool.

But Lemy's voice came pitchy, like every time he talked to her.

Lina looked at him with a wide smile. For a long minute, they remained there looking at each other until she broke the silence.

"Looking for something in special? We just received some great guitar picks with awesome designs"

He took his time to answer. For some reason, his brain went in slow motion mode; everything seemed to go slower.

"Lemy?" she asked worried"

"Yeah, right, I'll buy all the picks you want…" He said with a dumb face while nodding at everything Lina said. It was all good until he remembered the reason he was there in the first place. "I mean, no, I'm not here to buy, I'm here to sell"

"Did I just hear Mr. Lemy I'll never give you my music treasures Loud said he wants to sell something?" Sam came from behind the counter. She was carrying some music sheets towards the front of the store; she placed them behind the window so everyone could see them, and then walked towards the teens.

Heck, I knew this wouldn't be easy, but you don't have to make it harder Samantha. It is bad enough to know you want to take something from my collection, and being here close to Lina, now you're making fun of my suffering?

"Hello Samantha," he said. He knew how much it annoyed her to be called by her full name, but, hey, it was only fair, wasn't it? "And yes, you heard right. I need money and I need it now. Could you give it to me? In exchange, I can give you my…" Lemy sighed. "My signed Slash poster"

Both Sam and Lina let out a fangirl-like scream.

After some jumps and some exclamation a mother should never do in front of her daughter, Sam finally calm down.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day you'd give away that poster" Sam said. "Your family isn't having troubles with money, right? If that's the case you don't have to give me anything, I can borrow you some…"

"No, it's not that" Lemy blushed. Ok, his family was not the wealthiest, but he was not starving. "It's something personal"

Sam looked at him with narrowed eyes. She stood there as beautiful as she is, with that punk look and that young milf appearance, it sent a shiver down his spine.

Man, sometimes I don't know if I want Samantha to be my mother in law, or be Lina's stepfather. Oh, come on Lem, don't stain this two angels with your pervert desires. They're not your family, remember?

And looking at those blue eyes, Lemy surrenders and tell them everything.

"AWWWWW!" They couldn't hold how cute it was. Lemy's face blushed hard, feeling their gazes direct over him; they looked at him like he was a kitty, and he looked away

He didn't know if he liked the way they were looking at him or not. On one side, it is nice to be on the receiving end of the compliment, instead of being despised all the time. And on the other hand, it's hard to know the girl(s) you like think you're a good boy, because you know what they say about them…

"All right boy, I'll give you the $300 I offered you before, I can't give you more. If I sell it you know I'll barely get anything back" Sam spoke. He wasn't sure, tho; the last time he searched on Amazon a similar poster was sold around $450, but fuck it, he needed the cash now.

"It's a deal. But this is the last time you scam me, Samantha" Lemy put a good face to his defeat. He couldn't be mad at them.

"Come on Lemy, it'll be enough to buy your sister's gift, and you'll have left $50 to… I don't know… Take someone to eat ice cream" She said looking at Lina, who laughed sweetly.

Dude, have you ever noted that girl's laughter have something? Something that stuns you and makes you do whatever they say. It is the same with the tears. Damn, women can make you do whatever they want one way or another, it isn't fair man.

"O-ok, that's fine" He said. He lacked the guts to invite her formally; every time he wanted, his throat would become dry and the words he had already figured out in his mind would come all together at the same time, causing him to speak like an idiot.

"I'll go, but I want you to know I'm not a girl who likes cheap stuff" She said with a smug, her piercings shining with the light of his beautiful face.

Remember a few minutes ago when I was complaining about mi life? Now I wouldn't want it to be any other way. You know? I like Lina, I really like her. In fact, she's the only girl outside my fam… she's the only girl I like, ok? She's my chance of being normal, of not being like the depraved being I'm forced to call my father. So if it is going to cost me $150 to hang out with her, then so be it.

Lemy received the money, and left the store followed closely by Lina, the beautiful girl he shares interests with, and even if he doesn't know, they also share blood ties.

Blood Ties

Black lylis