Sorry this is slightly late and so short! My friend asked to hang out today and I couldn't turn her down since I haven't seen her in a while, so I had less time to write. But I finished it just now! So hooray. Please read, review, and enjoy this chapter. The next one will be long I swear.

Thanks SOO much to those of you who followed, favorited, and reviewed the last chapter! I appreciate it more than you can imagine, so thanks so so much.

To you reviewers I couldn't PM-

AthenaMonaLisa, I know this sounds awful, but it makes me happy that you are coming close to tears! It makes me feel I've done my job well. Perhaps I'll be able to make your tears fall soon! That sounds really strange lol but thanks for reviewing!

BlackJack97, Yeah, you really were. Don't feel bad about that either X'D. Thanks for your review!

QueenMoonlace, Thank you thank you! I will try to keep it up! Thanks for reviewing!

Eight.

"So when's the last time you saw your great uncle Roberto?"

"I dunno." Leo mumbled as he stared out the foggy car window. He traced a smiley face on the glass with his finger before scribbling it out harshly. It had made him angry. He wasn't sure why. "When I was a little baby, probably."

Miss Liz, Leo's new social worker, turned to the backseat for a quick moment to smile at Leo before looking back at the road. Rain pelted furiously against the windshield. The water seemed to hover over the wet black pavement as they drove. It looked magical, but also a little melancholy. Lonely, even. The low visibility made it seem like the car was separated from the rest of the world; in a different plane of reality.

That gave Leo some comfort. But not much.

"I spoke to him on the phone. He seems like a very nice man. He seems to care a lot about you."

"Yeah. Just like Aunt Rosa, huh?" Leo rubbed his stomach. It was hurting him.

It was dark in the car, and Miss Liz was turned toward the road, but Leo could tell that she was frowning.

"Your Aunt Rosa is a very upset woman, Leo. Her sister just died." She said. Leo narrowed his dark eyes, anger burning in his stomach.

"So you think she's right." He stated venemously.

"What?"

"You think I'm the devil. You think I'm a bastard that killed my mama."

Well isn't that what I am?

"Watch you language, Leo." She snapped. Her knuckles tightened on the steeringwheel. Leo crossed his arms and sat back in his seat, his stinging eyes staring defiantly at the misty window. A lump had formed in his throat. Not from saddness, but from frustraton. And anger.

Miss Liz sighed.

"I don't blame you for anything. You're eight years old, for christs sake. And you've done nothing that you don't regret. I empathize, Leo. I really do."

Leo continued his staring contest with the window. He had no idea what empathize meant. But it sounded like this middle aged woman thought he was a trouble maker. He wasn't a trouble maker.

His mama had taught him how to behave. Sometimes it was difficult. Sometimes he made mistakes, like when he had stolen a watch from the department store when he was five. It had been so interesting. He just wanted to take it apart, see how it worked on the inside. His mama had found out though, and she had made him take it back. She made him apologize to the manager. He had cried the whole time. He had felt badly. Ashamed.

Later that night at the apartment, when Leo was sitting on his bed in his red pajamas, his mama had come into his room to explain to him. She said "Leo, do you know what our nationality is?" and Leo hadn't understood, so she had explained to him. "You are a mixture of a lot of different things, Leo, but the main thing you are is Mexican. Most of your family comes from Mexico. That's why our skin is dark, you see?" And she had touched his arm lightly while flashing him that brilliant smile of hers.

"But some people don't like that, because they don't really understand. And sometimes when people don't understand, they get angry. So even though it is never right to steal, mijo, especially for you, you must behave. You have to be twice as good, twice as nice, twice as hardworking than a lot of the other kids, Leo. Or else those angry people, they'll point fingers at you. They'll called you names, they'll accuse you of being a criminal. So you have to be good. You have to be very good." Then she had kissed him on the cheek and ran her calloused fingers through his hair as he shuffled under his covers.

"Do they get angry at you, mama?" He had asked, his face very sad. He didn't want anybody to be mean to her. She was so kind, so warm. Who could ever be mean to his mama?

She had laughed. "Yes, Leo. Very angry, sometimes. And so I work even harder. You'll work hard too, mijo, right?"

Leo had nodded his head, and she had stood, making her way toward his bedroom door.

"Bueno."

Leo tapped his fingernails against the car window. It was cool to the touch. He didn't really want to think about his mom. He found that something odd was happening to him when he thought of her, now. Instead of saddness, he more or less just felt mad. Leo couldn't really understand why.

Was he mad at her? For dying?

No no it was my fault not hers.

So I am mad at me?

"Leo, did you hear me?" Liz said, and the young boy was pulled from his little inner conversation.

"Que?" Leo said quickly.

"Use your English, Leo. This is Texas, not Mexico." She said with a chuckle. Leo felt it again. That burning in his stomach. He clenched his teeth, but said nothing. "I said, you should make sure to get along with your classmates. You'll be starting up school again on Monday."

"What if they don't get along with me?"

"This is Sandersville, Leo. The kids will be well behaved."

"Sandersville?"

"Yes, it's a very nice little town. These people have well rounded values. I grew up here, myself."

"Oh." Leo whispered and he shut his tired eyes. He leaned his head against the cold glass and puffed a little sigh.

I wonder if any of the other kids have killed their mothers.

Leo awoke to the sound of tires over gravel. He opened his eyes and blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the light. It was early morning, and the sun was still just peeking over the horizon. The air seemed to have a bluish quality to it as Leo looked out the window. He sat up as the car slowed to a stop.

They were parked alongside the curb of a small one story house. It was light green and well taken care of. The hedges were well trimmed, and daisies bloomed beneath the windows. Leo looked around the street and saw dozens of other houses that looked nearly identical. He realized that he was in a development. He had never lived in a development. It made him think of rich people, even though he knew that wasn't the case.

"You awake back there, Leo?" Miss Liz said as she turned around to look at him.

Leo groaned and she smiled. "This is your great uncle's house. Let's head out, alright?"

Leo stretched and slid his hand for the door handle. He had to pull it a few times, as his arm wasn't fully awake and his fingers kept slipping, but eventually it popped open. The cool morning air rushed to his skin and he shivered. It was fresh air, though, which the young boy was thankful for after all that time in the car. He hopped onto the dew covered grass and slammed the car door behind him, making Miss Liz glare.

"Hush, Leo. People are trying to sleep." She whispered. Leo shrugged. She started toward the door, motioning for Leo to follow. He hesitated, and then started forward, trying to rub the goose bumps out of his arms. There was an enormous ball of anxiety in his stomach. It was so big he felt like he might have to throw up in the hedges just to get rid of it. It would be a shame. They were some nice hedges.

Leo stood beside Miss Liz and tapped his shoe nervously. It almost came off his foot. It was too big. The shoes he was wearing had been given to him at the police station. His others had been covered in soot and the laces had been singed.

Miss Liz flattened her bob of brown hair and knocked on the door. They waited, Liz with a big grin on her face and Leo with his sweaty hands clenched nervously.

There was no answer.

Leo glanced down the street as a chubby woman in a pant suit left her house and walked to her sparkling white prius. He wondered if she was going to work.

Miss Liz knocked again, this time louder. The grin was slipping off of her face.

"I told him we would be here around six." She said.

"Is he a good guy?" Leo asked. He bit at his lip.

"Well, we did a background check, an interview, and a house inspection. He seems like a very decent fellow."

I really hope she's right.

She rung the doorbell this time, obviously annoyed. Leo waited with his ear on the door. He thought he could hear footsteps. He stood back and tried to stand straight. He wanted to look good, like a well behaved child. Otherwise his great uncle might reject him. Or maybe he would attack him like Aunt Rosa had.

The thought made his blood run cold.

What if that was it? What if this man had done all of this just to lure him here, just so he could hurt him? Just so he could punish Leo for what he had done? He hadn't been in Leo's life before, he hadn't come to his birthday parties, and he hadn't visited Leo's mama.

He's going to hurt me, he's going to slap me like tía tried to, he's going to scream and yell and call me the devil because that's what I am, I'm a bastard and a devil that killed my mama. He's going to be so angry.

The door opened.

I actually split this chapter in two, which I wasn't planning to do at all in this story. But I suppose I might start doing it more often now. If you can't tell, racism is going to play a part in this story, so be prepared. I hope you guys liked it! Please review and make a miserable old fanfic writer happy.

Also, tell me in the reviews how you think Roberto is going to be! Do you think he will be how Leo fears or no?