The Ones Who Failed Us

Chapter 1

"How much longer do we have to stay here? We've been here for 30 minutes and have no information on what will happen to us," Teddy asked worriedly.

I looked around the police station, hoping to catch one of the officers' sight, but all I received were looks of pity. "I don't know, buddy, but hopefully Detective Jones will come out of his office soon and tell us," I said hoping to alleviate his fears.

It's been Teddy and I against the world for three, almost four, miserable years. We used to live with our mom, but she passed away when I was 11 and Teddy was five. We were left in the care of our stepdad, or Sir, as he likes us to call him. Thankfully, those four years of hell ended with his death, but now I have something else to worry about, another person to protect Teddy from.

I was coming home from the grocery store to cook dinner for Sir and some of his friends who would be joining. It was Saturday morning, and Teddy was at a friend's house. I saw Sir as soon as I opened the door, hanging from the living room fan with a rope around his neck.

Thank god, I thought. Teddy and I can finally be happy.

And then I saw the note, that dreaded note. With trembling hands, I picked it up and read it,

"Did you really think his death would mean you're safe from me, sweetie? As if Damon, my best drug dealer, would die without my permission. I may have sent someone to kill him so that you would be mine and mine alone. I'll be back in town tomorrow morning to take you. Don't even think about calling the cops or I'll make you regret it.

Your owner,

D.I.M"

I can't leave Teddy alone. Who will protect him? I have to do this for him, if only to give us a slight head start before he comes back and finds us.

Picking up the phone, I dialed 911.

I'm brought out of my thoughts by Teddy shaking me, and notice a young woman sitting in front of me. She's holding two files, one with my name and another with Teddy's.

"Who are you?" I asked, pulling Teddy closer to me.

The lady gives a sympathetic smile before introducing herself, "My name is Everly, and I am your social worker. I'm sorry for your loss. The two of you must be in shock after losing the only father figure you've known." I flinched at the word stepfather. No father does the things that he has done to me.

Oblivious to my sudden movement, she continued, "I have found some family willing to take you in, your brothers. They live in New York and own a chain of restaurants and hotels around the country and even some in Italy."

I froze when she said brothers. They want us? After 10 years of no contact? Well, I surely don't want them, but what choice do I have? It's either live with the brothers who abandoned us or have him take us, and I would rather die than do the latter.

"I think you must be confused, we don't have any brothers. It's just the two of us. Right, Ava?"

Looking at my confused brother, I requested, "Can I have a minute alone with my brother? There's some things I need to explain."

Nodding her head, she stepped away as I turned to face Teddy. "I'm going to speak in Swahili so they can't eavesdrop, okay?" Mom had made sure that I was fluent in five languages by the time I was 10, and I had continued this with Teddy.

Teddy nodded his head, and I began telling him the story in Swahili. "When I was four years old, mom and I used to live with our five older brothers and father. Our brothers' names are Alessandro, Elijah, Leonardo, Matteo, and Emilio. They loved mom and I so much, but one day that changed. Mom and I were forced to leave. At the time, she was pregnant with you but didn't know it at the time. We moved to Georgia, and you know the rest of the story."