Chapter 1: The way things are.

When I was younger, and my mom died, I didn't understand. I was old enough to know death isn't something made up in stories or just on the 11 PM news, but I was young to believe that it doesn't happen to someone I'm close too, someone that loved me. When my mother died, I didn't understand. It didn't make any sense to me.

My father was put in jail, so it left my brother, Jasper, and I to go into a foster home, the Crystalwoods foster home. Not my day in paradise, I'll tell you. But my brother, Jasper, was and is even worse off. When we got here, he had a stroke1. I thought he was dead, but when they took him to the hospital, apparently they ran some tests, and he has Primary brain cancer2. He has a tumor on the right side of his brain, and took up a lot of space.

As still a young girl when this happened, all I was fased by was seeing my brother in the hospital with tubes in his nose. I felt bad for him, and often clung to him, never leaving until they kicked me out with my foster parents.

And now, onto them. Them being my foster parents. They didn't care about anything. Mr. Clark didn't care. Neither did Mrs. Clark. Mrs. Clark would go around and complain about how horrible we kids are, as Mr. Clark went to work, and down to the bar. Mr. Clark was an ugly man, with graying brownish-muskiest hair, dirt colored eyes, and a small nose. Mrs. Clark had long white hair, black eyes, and a round, long face.

Jasper was never going to get the surgery he was going to need, they couldn't afford it, and it wasn't going to work out well without it. I knew this, they knew this, and the doctors knew this. Yet they had no sympathy for my brother. The 14 year old that's going to die.

My best friend, Alice, always tried to help. She was a small, fragile-looking thing. She was pretty, in a pixie-like way. She had short black hair, green eyes, and was always hyper. She was actually, surprisingly, stronger than me. But that was only her body. Her emotions were a different story.

I could only get a little of her story out of her. But what she did tell me was that her mother kicked her out one night when she was five. She never really knew a nice family, or any other thing such as the sort. I knew she was fragile about her past, and I knew she couldn't make it here without a nice family for long. I knew I had to do something about it.

Jasper had, or used to have, brown curly hair with flecks of white. Now, he has just a shaving of hair. He has bright green eyes and is really strong. Or, once again, used to be.

Jaspers best friend, Emmitt, was Alice's older brother. He had golden brown hair that was in a mop-cut. It fit him well. He was buff, with muscles enhanced more than most 14 year olds. He had brown-hazel eyes, which sparkled when he was into mischief.

This was my family. It wasn't large, it wasn't grand, but it was all that any of us had. It was the best thing that I've had, and I'd anything to keep it that way.

I didn't like it that things happened to my family, that didn't happen to others. It wasn't fair, or right.

A/N: Hope you all liked it! So, guys, I only got one review :( ??? This, in my personal oppinion, is my best story yet. (Out of all of my crappy stories.) Got a new pair of tennis shoes today! Yay! But back on topic. Can I at least get five reviews, please? I'm not going to be all like, I'm not going to update unless I get like ten reviews, yeah? No, I'll keep on updating for the love of this story that my heart holds.

IMPORTANT! I need a beta very soon, my best friend, Jaspers Lil Red, refuses to beta any of my stories. So, please!?! Anyone?!?