Wilting Rose | Teen Ink

Wilting Rose

November 13, 2014
By CrownPrince BRONZE, Frisco, Texas
CrownPrince BRONZE, Frisco, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
"...and light the lamps of our hearts so that the world may see our resolve."











-Prince Langston


Glenda, the mother of these children, was diagnosed with cancer after having her last son. On the spot, her husband divorced her because supporting the family as well as the Glenda’s medical bills would have been too much. He left Glenda to fend for herself while raising kids and battling cancer alone in the projects.
When Glenda passed away her oldest son was too old for foster care so he left his siblings without cordial feelings. Glenn was emotionally scarred from this chain of events so he developed a plan of his own; so at age 17, he left foster care and went on a money chasing path to support  his siblings in the future. He did anything he possibly could handle just to make a dollar. Jobs ranged from delivering news paper to assassination. He promised them he’d come back, but couldn’t keep contact with them. His motives soon changed to chasing money just for the sake of having it.

Glenn P.O.V.
Things had been hard the first year mom left. Keif walked out on us, so it was just me taking care of the kids. I was only 16 years old, a soon to be junior in highschool. I had to drop out in order to keep us afloat by getting a job. I knew that if I’d gone to foster care that we’d all be separated and probably mistreated; no one cared for the kids in the system. Luckily, Rose was smart and Davy grew up fast in that first year. They both kept their mouths shut about our living state and continued to go to school. The school had a lunch plan for them, so they were always fed during the day, two meals were promised to them daily. But after that first year, the jig was up and we were sent to foster care. I ended up running away after a couple of months; they didn’t bother looking for me, I was aging out of the system anyway. I met with a drug distributor in the area and became a dealer. I skipped town that night and never looked back; I sold drugs to whoever I could and more than doubled the prices. With the money I earned I was able to secure a place to live for a little while. It wasn’t until I got my first place that I realized that I was a carver. I knew that my link had true potential, so I practiced whenever I could. I spent nights studying different plant types and growth patterns. I was 19 when I could say that I mastered my abilities. Being a Carver, I was able to accept many more well paying jobs. I made good money; just one job alone could be worth 10 grand. After a few higher paying jobs, I went back to visit my siblings in the orphanage just to find out that they’d been adopted. I tracked them down to house after house only to find out they’d been separated. All I got was dead ends as to where they’d ended up. After about a month of no leads I just quit and went back to working. I was eventually arrested by the CDU around my 21 birthday and admitted to 1000 hrs of public service on behalf of Carver Academy. Even though it’s a sentence, I still enjoy it. It’s better than running the streets; plus it’s not costly, so I save my money. Just because I’m in school doesn’t mean I can’t make money.

I was 25 when I finally reunited with Rose and Davy. As anyone could expect, They were upset. They thought I left them like Keif and Dad. I could tell that there was a lot of pain in their hearts; the kind of pain that I refuse to acknowledge. I found them while on a task for the school. They were in New York. Davy tried to pick-pocket me but found a pack of seeds. When I found him later, I grabbed him by the shirt and looked into his eyes. It’s amazing the way we all look alike. There was no mistake, he had my eyes, his brother’s eyes, and the eyes of his father.
“What’s your name kid?”
“What do you care?”
“I asked you a question you thieving little rat”
“It’s Dave.” This was my brother.
“Where’s your sister!?” I interrogated.
“Who Are you?!” he panicked.
“How do you not recognize me?! Look at my eyes! Look at them!”
“Get off me!” He screamed. I realized that I might have scared him a bit. I put him down and pushed the hair out my face.
“It’s me Davy. It’s Glenn” Davy’s face filled with tears as he finally saw me. “Now please, tell me where your sister is.”
“No…” he backed away, “You left us. Just like them-You left us!”
“Davy please-” Then he ran away like I was a Perp. The next day, I followed him as he found Rose after school. When I approached them, she pushed Davy behind her instinctively.
“Rose-” I began.
“Who are you?”
“Didn’t he tell you about me?”
“Dave, do you know this man?” But Davy remained silent as he stared at the ground.
“Rose, it’s me, Glenn.”
“No, stay back” she reached into her purse.
“Rose, Look at me; really, look at me. Tell me you don’t recognize me.” She tensed up even more.
“You left us” she said.
“Yeah but-”
“You left us. You’re no different than either of them. You left  us. You promised you’d never ditch us. You promised!.
“Rose I’m Sor-”
“No! You don’t get to speak! You don’t understand what we went through. You don’t understand what we suffered through. You weren’t there when we needed you. You left the first chance you got. You never visited. You never came back.” Then I tried to hug her, “Don’t touch me!" she squealed. “Don’t ever touch me.”
“Rose, I tried. I really tried. I wanted to adopt you guys, I wanted to help, I wanted to be there. I wanted to protect you.” She wiped her eyes.
“Show him Davy,” he looked at her, “Davy, lift up your shirt.” I cringed as I saw the bruises and scars that decorated his back and sides. “You wanted to protect us huh? Well where were you when his third home did this? Or when they broke his leg for speaking out of turn? Or when he was beat like a slave? Or when he got jumped last Tuesday? What about me Glenn? What about me? Do you think all I have are bruises? There’s not just scars Glenn!” I was heart broken at this point, I couldn’t stand to see them in this light.
“I wanted to be there Rose, I wanted to help. I didn't want this to happen, I didn't want for either of you to get hurt. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Davy I’m sorry. Please, just come with me back to-”
“NO!” Davy screamed, “Why would we ever go with you? You’re probably on the corner sellin’ dope like Rose’s guy. She doesn’t need another one in her life. Don’t you think she’s suffered enough?! Don’t be so selfish”
“I don’t sell dope anymore, and when I did, I did it for you. Every job I did, I did it for you. Every dollar, every moment I spent thinking about you. I’ve done so many jobs, taken so many lives- thrown away my humanity. I’ve worked just as hard as you’ve been beaten, and I did it all for you.So don’t you dare say I’m selfish Dave.”
“I can’t leave Glenn…” Rose seemed off a bit.
“And why is that?”
“I can’t leave h-he won’t let me.”
“Dave, who is she talking about?” Davy got quiet again, “Rose, who is he, what did he do to you?”
“She doesn't just have scars Glenn” Davy replied. Before I could get out a word, a red convertible pulled up and honked twice. Rose began walking to the car before I stopped her. I had never seen such fierce terror in anyone before, not to this extent.
“Is this him Rose?” The man got out the car and called to Rose. As I held her shoulders, I felt her shake like death. “Dave, hold your sister.” At this point, I didn’t care if he was a Carver, I didn’t care if he was human; all I cared about was that he hurt my sister in more than one way, and he has the nerve to approach her again. Needless to say, my sentence was extended. 


The author's comments:

This is more or less the sequel to my previous Submission about a young boy named Glenn. This article shows what happened after their mother died.


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