Later that night, after I finished my duties, I plopped onto my bed & heaved a sigh. It took me approximately 2 hours to clean the entire house, & of course my mother didn't spare me any sympathy. Without a doubt, I felt like my parent was the evil stepmother, & I was Cinderella.

As I sat up, my phone started to ring. I leaned over & saw Hiro's name pop up. Realizing I didn't text or call him since I got home, I quickly answered the phone.

"H-Hiro?", I stammered.

"Heaven! It's been almost 3 hours since you left my house & you haven't hit me up".

I bit my lip, slightly feeling bad, even though it wasn't my fault. "Sorry, as I got home my mom went berserk about me not cleaning the house. I just finished not even 10 minutes ago".

The phone was hushed for a minute. "She hit you again didn't she?", Hiro asked, breaking the silence.

"Technically, no..", I answered, my voice trailing off.

Of course, I couldn't see Hiro right now, but I could picture his facial expression. "I know you get tired of that sometimes. I just know".

"I really do, but I don't worry too much. 'Cause I know me & Amirah will be gone soon", I admitted. The phone fell dead silent, which I took as an opportunity to change the subject. "So anyways, what's new at SFIT?"

- NEXT DAY -

I was woken out of my slumber by my mom shaking me.

"Hmmm?", I sleepily groaned.

"Girl, it's damn near 12 PM. Get up, it's Sunday. Anyways, I'm going out today, I should be back around 9. If you go out anywhere, take Amirah with you. Don't do anything stupid". My mother sucked her teeth & nudged me quite roughly. "AND GET UP".

I grumpily sat up in bed, as she walked out my room, slamming the door.

Just a few more years Heaven, just a few more years & you'll be out of here, I assured myself in my mind. I freshened up with brushing my teeth, & a shower before putting on some cute, floral clothing. Walking down the hall to get my little sister, I noticed that my mother's room was cracked open. That was odd..

She had a deadbolt on her door that she always locked before going anywhere. Even if she was just going down to the kitchen to come back, she'd lock her door.

It took me a few seconds to process the fact that my feet were guiding my body towards the opened room. Was this the right thing to do? Did I really want to go in this forbidden area? I ignored any thoughts that would talk me out of it & pushed open the door.

The smell of cinnamon filled my nose as I examined the room. Gorgeous turquoise walls complimented the white carpet nicely, as did the furniture. An expensive flat screen was planted on top the chestnut dresser, supporting it. The nightstand contained frames with pictures inside, pictures I've never seen before. I closed the distance between me & the nightstand as I edged closer to get a better look. I automatically recognized my mom & dad, but I didn't know who all the other people were. As I was searching, I came across the note that appeared to be old, many stains & rips embedded. Grabbing it from under the large frame, I slowly opened it up.

Anastasia,

We're not together anymore but that doesn't change the fact that we have children together. You can't just keep the girls to yourself. They have a father, & I still want to be a part of their lives, I just don't want to be part of yours. You're not fit to be a mother with the drinking problem you got going on, it's best if Heaven & Amirah stay with me & you know it. I love those little girls with all my heart, you don't give not one damn about them. Anastasia, you treat those two girls like slaves & it's horrifying to watch. You can't just move to a whole new place across the U.S. to avoid me from seeing my kids. I will see them regardless, & if I have to hunt you down to do so, I will. I'm trying to be reasonable here, but you're just making this hard. So we will do this the hard way.

Sincerely, David

My eyes narrowed at the piece of paper in my hands. My mother lied to me all these years. When her & my dad divorced, my mom moved me & Amirah here to San Fransoyko 4 years ago. She told us how our father said he didn't want us, that he left us for another family. She told us how he didn't even call ever again to ask where the three of us were, & how we were doing.

She lied.

All this time our father wanted us back. He wanted to see us. He was even willing to search for us to get to see our faces again, to have us in his presence. All this time me & my little sister would stay up at the night, wondering why our father would just drop us the way he did. But that was never the case. My mother was lying to us all.. these.. years.

I couldn't believe this. Of all the low things my mother has down & said, this had to have hit rock bottom. Dropping the letter, I rushed into my sister's room. She had a weird look on her face that softened when she saw the tears streaming down mine.

"What's wrong?".

I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand. "I'll tell you later, just get dressed".

"Where are we going?"

"To Hiro's house".

Whoaaaaaa! I know it's been a few days since I've posted a chapter, but school just got my back against the wall man. But anyways, I might post another chapter tonight to make up for my absence the past few days. Review, follow, all that good stuff loves :)