Chapter ONE

I stretch and look up to the sky,it is one beautiful night. I remember when my dad used to stargaze with me and my brothers. "Hey Nithia, what's taking you so long?",my boss Mr Jaing says. I've been working at his Chinese restaurant since I was 14. Never in my life did I ever think that I'd be struggling to make ends meet, struggling to take care of my younger brothers. I was once a rich girl,my dad was a billionaire, Nicholas Kent, life was easy back then we were so happy. Mr Jaing is the only one that was willing to hire me despite knowing very well that the Salvatore family said no one in all of L.A to help us. "Hurry up and close up , remember to come early tomorrow,I don't want a repeat of today", he says. " No problem Mr Jaing",I say and head to the back to change and get my stuff. I sure have it hard as an eighteen year old. I dropped out of school so I can take care of my siblings,at least one of us will get some education. I look at the little car I've bought for my little brother. Today is Mason's birthday. He's turning 7 today. I get my staff locked up but as I walk to my scooter I feel eyes on me so I stop and search through the empty parking lot but I don't see anything suspicious,I must be stressed. I get on my beat up scooter and make my way home. When dad died we lost everything, our accounts were frozen , our house was taken away, we only got out with the clothes on our bodies, we had no choice but to move to a not so good area but hey it's better than sleeping in the streets. I park my scooter and chain it up and make my way into the apartment complex,the elevator is out of service so I us the stairs and I could use the exercise,me and my brothers used to go for a jog in the park but I now have to balance two jobs so I don't have the time. I got a fake ID and landed a job as a bartender in a strip club. As soon as I open the door a little hair ball rushes into my arms. "Hey there peanut",I say and carry him in my arms. He pouts and looks the other way " Nithia you promised you'd stop calling me that once I turned 7 and today I turned 7",he whines. " But Mason you're just way too adorable I can't help myself and I have a surprise for you", I say as I put him to the ground and take out the toy car that I bought him,it was a little expensive but he deserves it. "Wow I thought you said we couldn't afford it, wait till I show my friends",he says as he jumps up and down,Mason is a little small and short for boys his age I guess it's because he usually gets sick and I can't afford to take him to a proper hospital. "Hey sis", Lucas my other brother says,he is 16 but is way taller than me. "Happy birthday",I say and take out a brand new iPhone 6 plus, that I had to go through hell just to get the money to buy it.Lucas and Mason share the same birthday. "Oh my goodness,sis,how?,when? How did you manage to buy this",he says. " It's no biggie,I know it's not the iPhone 7 or 11 ",I say but he interrupts me with a hug. "Are you kidding, thank you so much? '',he says. I love seeing them happy.I take out the small cake I bought from the store and light two candles for them both. After that we eat some noodles and go to bed. My brothers and I share a room while my mom sleeps in the other.i sleep on the lower unk with Mason while Lucas sleeps on top. As soon as I take away custody from my mother then we'll move out. "Goodnight Nithia, goodnight Lucas",Mason, who's cuddled up in my arms, says and we fall asleep. I suddenly awoke after hearing a loud bang. "What the hell was that?", Lucas asks. "It's okay go back to sleep I'll take care of it",I say ,she must be back. I quickly put my slippers on and walked out of our bedroom and my guess was right. My mother is back. "There's there any food here",she says to herself as she closes the refrigerator. "Oh sweetheart you startled me",she says. I take a good look at the woman who's my mother. Ever since my dad died she's turned to a life of drinking and selling herself for a few bucks. "Why are you back,did you think about what I told you",I say and cross my arms. " Honey you and your brothers are all I have ,how can you suggest separating,no I can never accept that",she says. " Don't you see ,we are better off without you,all this is your fault, it's the least you can do , you're never here and you've never been a mother to us , you're an alcoholic and now you're even a prostitute",I calmly say. " I'm trying okay and I'm sick and tired of you always blaming me. How many times do I have to do sorry",she yells. " Sorry will never be enough,I hate you and I can't stand you ,so sign the papers or I'll see you in court mother",I say. " Fine I'll sign it,but you'll have to pay ",she says and smirks. " Fine, how much do you want?",I say. "2000",she says. What $2000? Is she crazy? That's the money I want to use to look for another place . "I can only give you$1500 ,but you'll have to move out and never show your face in front of us again",I say,fine then she can have the money and we'll just stay here. "Fine but I'll come and collect the rest of the money,where are the damn papers?", I go to my bed and reach under to get the papers so she can hand over full custody of my brothers,I hand the papers to her and she signs. I then hand her the money and she smiles counting it.I know it won't last more than a week but that's her problem. Many people say I look like my mother and even though I hate it it's true,she is a gorgeous woman if only she was a good mother. "You can leave in two days",I say and head back to my room. I hug the papers and put them in a safe place ............