We arrived at Trisha's house and her two little kids Esme and Elijah were there and I hadn't seen them in a year. Braxton was Trisha's firstborn son but gave him to my mom so it was awkward. After me and Braxton got settled in we warmed up with Trisha and her kids. Life was hard after that but we managed and I thought we moved for the better but little did I know that was a lie. A couple of months had passed but rumors were going around in my family that Trisha was stealing the money that my mom was providing for me after she died. So I decided to confront Trisha and she said "This is bullshit I have provided for you and you think I am stealing from you!?" I said that it was just a rumor and I wanted to know if it was true and she said" Of course not why the hell would you believe them over me I gave you a place to stay?"

I said quietly that I thought it was a good idea that we had our abuelita open an account for my money because I didn't think she was saving my money for me and my well-being. She got pissed off and drove home without saying a single word. The next day I went with my abuelita and opened an account so I Could have access to it without worry. Me and Trisha started talking again and I thought everything was fine and the next day we ended up adopting two baby kittens. We had gotten kittens because it was supposed to help me with my grief and help with my anxiety. I named the kittens Lilith and Lucifer because Lucifer was an all-black cat that was fluffy and Lilith had a solid color of grey and black and brown spots on her fur so we thought that was the perfect name. They were perfect kittens and helped with my depression.

Me and Trisha started having problems again because she had a man named Christian who was her two little kids' dad. He was verbally abusive and called her unspeakable things and was an alcoholic so I didn't like being around him. One night Trisha kicked him out and swore to me she would never let him back into the house because he would give me panic attacks so I appreciated that. Well, one day he came in and I hated it I stayed in my room until I heard yelling and he was calling my sister names I stepped in and told him he needed to leave and shut the hell up but he didn't listen and it ended up getting worse. He was swearing and rambling about things because he was drunk and couldn't think straight but he was being verbally abusive to me and I ended up running upstairs in my room to hide. That night he had left and had not come back for a while because my sister only dropped the kids off at his house so there were no altercations.

A couple of weeks later my stomach had been hurting badly and it had been the worst pain ever. In the past, my mom had taken me to the hospital so many times but they had never found anything they just thought it was stress because there was nothing they could see or think of. My stomach was hurting so bad today and I was hurled over on the floor crying because I was in so much pain. My sister took me to the hospital and like usual they found nothing but it was because they didn't do the proper tests. I went to my abuelas and all my instant family was there they saw how much pain I was in and pressured my sister to take me back because I couldn't walk or talk and it hurt so bad. She got pissed off and said "They didn't do shit for her when she was there why would I take her back" My aunt Sue finally got up and said, "You need to take her to the hospital or I will because she is in so much pain that is not normal, you need to ask for an ultrasound because it's her stomach".My first instant thought was that they were thinking I was pregnant and there's no way in hell I was pregnant. My sister finally took me to the hospital and requested an ultrasound. The doctor came back within ten minutes saying "She needs her gallbladder taken out, she has gallstones that are stuck causing her to be in pain, and because of that she has pancreatitis so it's urgent she goes to another hospital to get surgery".

My sister left pissed because she didn't want to go anywhere but my aunt Sue got picked up with us to the hospital. A few days later they took me for surgery and I was so scared but when I woke up I was numb and dizzy from the anesthesia. When they took me back to my room and I finally came to my senses they said everything had gone well so I just needed to rest for recovery. A week later they sent me home with restrictions and was still in pain but I was okay on my own. That was one of the moments I was scared of because I was scared of surgery. A few months later one night and Trisha were watching a movie and she started laughing. I looked at her and she said "It's an old friend from high school his name is James and wants to meet up again what do you think?"

I said it would be okay but just don't have him spend the night or anything because you don't know anything about him. She said okay and invited him over and we watched a movie together while the kids were at their dad's house and Braxton was sleeping. I went to bed and the next day it turned out that he had spent the night at the apartment. I knew he wasn't a good guy because after a couple of days, he was smoking marijuana which wasn't that big of a deal but he was also doing cocaine so I knew it wasn't safe for anyone. I tried to talk to Trisha but she wouldn't listen she thought she was in love and one night that all had changed or so I thought. My cousin Victorio had come over and he stayed because Trisha found pictures on James's phone and he was cheating on her our cousin was there in case anything had happened because he was big and muscular and was used to these types of situations.

James had come back to the apartment and she confronted him and he started yelling so I thought he was going to get kicked out.

Trisha and him started to talk and they worked things out so he stayed. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of him staying but I had no choice but to keep quiet so I would have a place to stay. I had more responsibility than a typical teenager does and I don't try to say I had it worse or anything I just know I had it difficult. Every morning I was late to school because I had to take Trisha to work and then take her kids to school and go back home so I could clean the house and make dinner before everyone got home and then I had to pick everyone up after work and school. One day I got tired of it and my cousin was over I confronted my sister and told her I was done doing everything and missing school and she got pissed off and locked my phone and told me 'to get the hell out of her house' i went upstairs and called my best friend at the time candace and I didn't have enough time to talk to her because my sister locked my phone so all she heard was me crying, meanwhile, I was trying to get her to come to get my cats because I knew my sister was going to let them outside if I left.

I told my sister to unlock my phone so then I called my aunt and asked her if she could come get me because I wasn't going to make it by staying there. My aunt came and picked me up but I felt so bad because I left the only person I thought of as a brother there...braxton.The same night when I got my phone unlocked I saw my friend texted and she was at my house because she didn't know what was happening and wanted to make sure I was okay. I thanked her so much because that showed she really cared but me and my aunt went and picked her up and dropped her back off at home. That night I moved into my abuelita house at midnight and I was crying in tears because I didn't know what was going to happen next. The next morning didn't go to school because I was so tired and everything had changed last minute. I was eating breakfast and someone knocked at my abuelitas door and we were confused because no one was supposed to be coming over.

My abuelita opened the door and there was someone here named David and he was from Children Protective Services. He said that he had been called by my school because I had missed too much school. He pulled me into the kitchen and asked me what had been going on and I told him the truth. I told him everything that happened with my sister and he told me that I didn't have to go back to her house because she was verbally abusive. He understood me when I felt others didn't and I appreciated that, before he left he knew all the things I had gone through and said "My wife is a social worker at your school and I think you would love her and it would be good for you to talk to someone".The next day I went to the school and asked to see his wife Michelle because he recommended me so I had the opportunity to talk to her that day and she was nice and understood me. She got me through the rest of middle school because we talked and I didn't hold back any emotions.

I appreciate her because she was sweet and never told my family anything I didn't want them to know. Little did I know I would never see her again and I would end up in a bad situation. Wherever I went trouble followed me for some reason. I eventually thought I was a bad person and was causing these problems.