Sam's POV:
"Okay, class." Ms Wistos said. "It's time to work on your chemistry projects. Get together with your partner. You have forty minutes to share your stories. Use your class time wisely. "
"This project is so stupid." Emily whined loudly. "This is so dumb."
Taylor nodded. "Yeah, Ms. Wistos. This project is stupid and pointless. Cant we do something else?"
"Girls." Ms. Wistos said sighing.
Leah caught my eyes and rolled her eyes.
I scoot my desk right next to Leah.
"Hey." I said to her. "You ready?"
"Yeah." she said. "Let's get this over with. It's been an while that I actually did an school project."
" Do you want to start first? Or do you want me to start first?"
"I guess I can start." she said shrugging. "Whatever you want."
She paused. "Hey, thanks for letting me sleep in your arms. And thanks for comforting me last night, when I cried. Thanks for being here for me."
"No problem."
"You're an good guy."
" Anything to help you out. You were miserable. It wasn't right to just leave you there. My mom raised me better. She taught me manners."
"You got an good mom. You should be thankful."
"I am thankful everyday." I said. Um listen. Amanda told me what happened. With Cameron."
"Oh." she said. "I think every knows now. This morning my publist called me. My best friend was spotted this morning having coffee with my boyfriend right after she slept with him. I don't even know what we should be. Should I stay with him or not? I don't even know. We are still together. I haven't broke up with him. He says he doesn't want to break up. I love him, but I sort of don't trust him."
"You should end things." I said quietly. "He don't deserve you."
"Maybe. But I love him." she said.
"Even after what he did?"
"I guess. I don't know. He was drunk."
"That's no excuse."
"Yea, maybe not. But I made mistakes too. I made a lot of them in my life. He made an mistake. Part of me want to end it. Another part of me don't. I just want to go back, Sam. I want my old life back."
"I think we should start. I don't want to waste any time." I said.
"Yeah. That is an good idea." she agreed. "We should put class time to good use."
"Okay. So tell me about your self. What's your story?" I asked.
Than I added just in case. "Tell me something I don't know. Tell me something that I cant read in magazines or online. Tell me something that cant be googled."
I watched as she grimaced.
"Are you really sure you really want to know me? Because I am warning you, a lot of stuff about my past is pretty heavy."
"Yes. I want to know you. I want to hear your story. I want to know who Leah really is."
"All right." she said finally agreeing. "If that's what you want. But don't say I didn't warn you. And if you want me to stop, just say so and I will stop with the stories."
"I am ready." I said. "Don't censor anything."
"Okay." she said. "But I am warning you again, a lot of stuff I tell you are pretty heavy stuff."
Leah's POV:
"I was born in San Diego to my parents Sue and Harry. I am sure you know that. That's on the websites and magazines everywhere. My father is Mexican and Native American. He is part of the Cherokee tribe. My mom is White. My father speaks fluent Spanish and English. Well not fluent English at first. But eventually he learned. My mother cant speak an word of Spanish. Well maybe a few. But really simple words. And me, I speak Spanglish. Meaning a mixture of Spanish and English because I am not that great at it. My dad tried to get me to speak more Spanish. But I was stubborn, and refused to speak a lot of Spanish. My brother Seth cant speak it at all. He could however speak one phrase. Como estas? My dad tried to get him to speak Spanish too, but it was an lost effort.
My father was born in Mexico and came to the US illegally. He was really poor over there. He was an farm worker like most Mexicans living in the village he grew up in. There was nothing else to do for an living. Like a lot of Mexican farm laborers, they aren't paid well. He worked hard all day in the fields, six days an week, eight hours a day. He worked from sun rise to nearly sunset. He worked from the hottest day to the coldest day. He worked till his fingers were tired. No matter how long and how hard he worked, my father was barely making enough money to support everyone. The little he did make it was to help his family. It went to his mother. She was sick, and recently not too long ago his father.
My dad was tired of living in poverty. He was tired of being so underpaid. It was unfair for farm workers to work long hard hours and barely get paid. He complained. He got no results. He couldn't accept that. He didn't want to have his future children and wife to have the life he has. He didn't want them to have no education and no job opportunities. He wanted us to have more of an future than to plant things, and dig the ground. He wanted us to have an bright future. He wanted us to have options.
So at eighteen, ambitious and determined he found someone to sneak him over to the states in an truck. He was in the back concealed with five others like him. Getting across the border is dangerous. And if they were caught, they could face jail time. He was determined. He got in to the US border with no problem. From than on my father started his life. He enrolled himself into San Diego community college and studied English. Soon he mastered it and took classes and majored in Environmental science later on. At twenty one he met my mom, soon they gotten married and had me and my little brother Seth. We also had another sister too. Her name was Nessie. I was six when she was born. But she died because she was premature. She was born an month too early."
(Flash back)
"Mommy?" I said when I entered the room where my mother laid in the hospital bed, with her blue gown on. She looked like an broken fragile glass. She was so pale. She was like an ghost. I was scared. I never seen my mommy like this.
Tears was streaming down my face. "Mommy? Are you okay?" I squeaked out.
My mother is sobbing. She tried to wiped the tears from her eyes. "Come here. Sweetie, come here." she said softly. My daddy's arms tighten around her.
Is she dying? Is she sick? I thought, tears coming down even harder.
"Mommy?" I said running towards her open arms.
"Seth." she said. "Come here."
Seth came over too her. "Mommy? Where's Nessie? Can I hold her again?"
She tighten her embrace on us. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Her eyes were blood shot.
We all stood there embraced in a tight hurdle around my mother.
I was scared. Was Mommy dying? Is that why Mommy is crying? Is that why daddy is so sad?
"Daddy?" I asked looking at him. "What's wrong with Mommy? She is okay right?"
"Leah, sweetie." my father said rubbing my shoulders. "We lost your little sister. Nessie's gone." he said in verge of tears himself. He hold it together for the sake of his children.
He tried to keep it all together. But he was close to loosing it himself.
Seth didn't understand. "Gone?"
"Yes son. She's gone . She's going to an better place. God is going to watch over her now. She is going to join your grandpa."
"You mean she is gone forever like abeula?" I asked my voice shaking.
"Yes." he said. He wrapped his arms tighter around me and Seth.
"Gone like abeula." he whispered hoarsely. "She's gone."
"Why?" I asked. "She was fine. Was she sick?"
"I am so sorry." Sam said. "How did your mom handle the aftermath?"
" She was very emotional of course. She cried her self to sleep for an month. She didn't eat, she lost a lot of weight. But as time passed she gotten stronger. She started living again. She pulled herself out of the depressed stage. And she got better." I said wiping an tear from my eyes. "Mostly due to my father. She survived because my father was there."
"I am sorry." he said. "You don't have to continue." he said taking his palm to my cheeks to wipe them away.
"No, it's okay. I promise you an story. And I want to finish my story." I said. " I got to tell my story to someone other than my friends and family. It feels good telling this to someone. Anyways, back to the story, I held her once before she died. After my mom gave birth to her two hours later, my mom hand her to me. I remember holding her, and kissing her soft little cheeks. And the last thing I said to her was that I told her I love her."
"I am so sorry." He said again. "I cant imagine the pain you went through."
"Yeah." I said. "A lot of people cant. You are so lucky Sam. You got an family that's not broken. You got an stable family. Some people will kill to have an family like yours."
"Yeah, they are great. Your family is not that bad is it?"
I scoffed.
"My family is torn apart into an million pieces. We are an dysfunctional family for the longest time. My brother is in boarding school because he couldn't stand it anymore. He couldn't take the fighting all the time. Seth was always put in the middle in the arguments that I have with my mom. I haven't talked to Seth or seen him since than. Which has been an year and half ago. I am currently not talking to my mom. My mom and I don't get along anymore. I am convinced that my mother is out to get me. And I swear on my life that it is true. And my father, is gone. Ever since he died my mother is an nightmare. I wish every day that he would just come back and fix everything and pull the family back together. But it's impossible. When I was twelve he was murdered. He was murdered brutally."
"Oh my god." he gasped. "Oh Lee." he whispered.
I took an deep breath and continued.
"It's been five years and the killer has not been caught. There are suspects in the case, but they turn out to be wrong. The killer's still out there."
"I am so sorry." he said again.
"It was than I started drinking. It numbed out my pain. I didn't want to feel anything. I didn't want the feel the raw pain of loosing someone I love. My mom started to fall apart. She was loosing it. She was barely keeping it together. She started to skip work. She no longer felt like working. She was staying in bed, all she did was sleep and cry. She barely ate. She was loosing tons of pounds. She was starting to look like an skeleton.
She couldn't take care of us, since she cant even take care of her own self. She left us to fend for ourselves. Seth and I tried to take care of her. But she refused our help. She just wanted to be left alone.
I started hanging out with the wrong crowd. My mother didn't notice or care. She was to wrapped up in her own pain. She was blinded, with her own personal pain. I was partying practically every other weekend and was barely home. My mother said nothing. I am not sure if she even acknowledge it. One time I didn't even come home. She didn't do anything. She didn't call the cops, she wasn't worried. I was hurt at how unaware my mother was with her children.
I started getting high and starting to experiment with drugs. I once even gotten high in front of her. Not on purpose of course. I had my home girls with me in the living room with me. She came home, and walked in on us getting high. All of us were like scared. Even I was. I wasn't sure what she was going to do. She didn't say anything. She just went up to her room. We were all shocked. My old mom would of yelled at me. She would of grounded me. I was sure she was going to come down on me when the next morning. She never did.
She wasn't just unaware of me. She was also unaware of Seth. She was so out of it.
Seth turned into an cutter. He started not long after I started drinking and getting high. I knew, because I caught him one night. I begged him. But he wouldn't listen to me.
Not that I can blame him. Our home life was hard. Any sane person would of done the same thing.
Our dad was murdered, and our mom is an zombie.
How can you not find something to numb out your pain?
He had cuts everywhere all over his arms. My mom once walked in on him during the process of slicing himself. She didn't even blink an eye. She just walked away. She said nothing.
Mom was oblivious to how it was effecting her children. She needed to step up. She was oblivious of everything. She just gave up. She gave up living and caring.
For weeks and weeks, she still hadn't gone to work.
The bills piled up. She still did nothing.
Her boss fired her.
She didn't care.
Seth and I were worried to how we were going to pay the bills that are getting higher and higher.
Eventually the electric bill was cut off. Than came the water bill.
And what did my mom do?
Nothing. Nada.
All she did was cry and cry. All she did was sit there and feel sorry for herself. She acted like she was dead too. There really was no difference. We were sympathetic to her at first. Not anymore after that. We just wanted her to do something. To be the mom she used to be. Wee wished she would just put her self together and take control again.
Whatever money was left in the bank account ran dry. Soon she couldn't keep up on her mortgage on her house. Stressed out. She broke down. She wanted us to pack everything. She said we were leaving. She couldn't keep up with anything. Bills were piling higher and higher. The electricity has been turned off again. She decided to move to Los Angeles. I was thirteen than. She wanted an new start. She said she wanted to do better. She wanted to leave an place that was full of memories. She wanted to leave the place that can no longer remind her of her husband. We moved into an run down apartment, about the only place we can afford. She found an job at the fast food restaurant across the street. And in our area it was know for the drug dealing scene, as there are drug dealers in practically every street corners. Which made it easier for me, to score drugs if I wanted them. And eventually later on became my job. Later on I entered the drug scene."
"Wow." he commented. "You really surprise me. This is sure something you cant read of off magazines."
I nodded. "Well, yea of course."
"I tried to do better with my life. It was hard. I fell back to the old habits. The only change was that my mom went back to work. She still paid us no attention. Well at least the bills were getting paid. Well I should say majority of the bills. Her job didn't made that much. She eventually took a second job. But it was still hard. There I met Alexa. I was almost fourteen than. She introduced me to the drug dealing scene. I had no choice. My mom needed the money. She needed help with paying the bills. Seth baby sat. He tried to help out too. I agree to sell drugs. Than Alexa introduced me to an guy. From than on I was know as an dealer. I sell things varying from party pills to marijuana to cocaine. I had rich clients and poor clients. I had teenagers to adults."
He was in shock.
I really couldn't believe that I am telling all of this to him.
"Are you going to tell everyone that I am an drug dealer on your speech? Or the fact you are going to use my real name?"
"No. I will use Hailey. And of course not. I wont tell anyone that you used to be an dealer. Are you still an dealer?"
"No." I said. "I don't deal anymore. I promise. "
"Good."
"There was times that I nearly lost my life." I said remembering of the time where I had an gun pointed at my head.
I shudder at the memory. It was one of the lowest moments in my life. The moment where I questioned my life.
He put his hands on top of mines.
"I could of died that day." I said. "I came pretty close to loosing my life, if he decided to shoot me."
His tightened his grip.
(Flashback)
"What the fuck!" I yelled when Alberto, the drug lord pushed me roughly against the cement wall and put an gun at head.
I felt the cold smooth exterior against my head.
"Where the fuck is my money?" he screamed at me. "Where the fuck is it? And what happened to the rest of the unsold goods?"
"Alberto." I pleaded. "I was jumped. He took the money. I don't have it. I promise I will get it back. As for the drugs, I cant recover that. He took that. He took everything. I am so sorry Alberto. I'll make it up to you."
"You bitch!" he screamed cocking the trigger. "You lost me nearly five hundred thousand dollars. Do you know how much money that is?"
"I am sorry." I whimpered. "I am sorry." I said again.
"I should kill you. But because of your amiga. I spare your life. Because she put in an good word for you. I wont do it again. She begged me. She told me you were just careless. You should thank your friend Alexa. There will be no next time. You hear me? Next time you will be dead! Muerto! You got it?"
I nodded. "Si`" I said.
"Good." he said his eyes narrowing. "You got two weeks to get me everything. Normally I would say twenty four hours. But seeing how she begged, I gave you the extra time."
"Two weeks? I cant. Alberto, I cant get you the money than. At least couple of months. I could work it off."
"No!" he roared. "I don't trust you anymore! I am through with you. You are no longer working for me. How do I know you didn't set this up? In my eyes, you are guilty until proven innocent."
"How am I suppose to pay you off?'
"Figure it out. And if you don't pay me back in two weeks from today." he threatened pushing me harder against wall. "I will shoot you. I will kill you. I wont spare you your life."
"I could of died that day." I said. Sam's hands tighten on mines.
"How could you of done it? Every time you deal, you risk your life."
"I know." I said. "But it was life. Life is hard. You win some and you loose some. I didn't do it because I wanted to. It wasn't my choice. I did it because I had too. I did it to help pay the rent and everything. My mom worked two jobs. Even with two jobs my mom was behind. The rent kept on going up. So did the bills. You didn't know how tough it was after my dad died."
"You could of done something else. You could of gotten an job." he said.
"I know." I said. "But I made so much more, dealing. It was easier too. Sometimes even rewarding. But other times not so much. Sometimes I get harassed by older guys. They try to even pay me for sex. Of course I said no. I would never stoop that low. My life was hard. Yeah I had a lot of money coming in. After paying all the stuff I had extras. But I wasn't happy with my life. If I could of done anything else, I would of."
"So is life everything you wanted it to be now?"
"Pretty much." I said. "I love singing and dancing. But it wasn't a way to make money. At least that's what my mom always told me. I was discovered when I was fifteen when my friend Alexa hooked me up with the manager at the night club. I was paid five hundred dollars for the gig if I was good and entertained the guests. I did. I blew the crows away. Little did I know an record producer was there. After seeing my performance the guy Clive Owens records offer me a record deal. I took it. A guy just handed me my dream and my future, for a better life. I took it. I was no longer working for Alberto. I worked for an bigger drug lord. I told him I didn't want to do it anymore. I told him I want to have nothing to do with selling drugs."
"Did he do anything to you?"
"Sort of yes. He threatened me. He told me I better not go to the cops. I told him it was nothing like that. I told him I was getting an record deal, that I am on my way to being an star. He let me go afterwards. He believed me. He didn't think I would rat him out."
"So what did your mom say?"
"She wasn't happy. She wasn't pleased. She said, acting and Hollywood are not good for an girl like me. She said, that I would be famous for an while, and than I would burn out. I didn't listen to her. I was tired of her putting me down all the time. My dream was handed to me, I am not going to walk away from it, whether she likes it or not."
"All right class." Ms. Wistos said. "Time's up. Class is almost over."
"Sam." I said gathering my stuff. "I guess I have to finish my story later on."
Whew! This chapter took up almost all my spare time. :) But I like this chapter. I hope you like Leah's story.
More scandal coming up next chapter. U know me. You never know what you can expect.
So review please.