She sat in the smelly taxi cab with her boyfriend, silent all the way to the LAX airport. This was going to be her first flight--- his too. She was nervous, scared, and excited. They could make a new start in New York for themselves. It was the city of opportunities, filled with exciting adventure at every turn. She thought to herself about how far she had come, about everything she had been through. What would it have been like if she never accomplished the things that she had? She would still be sitting at home, working a dead-end job with no exciting future in her sights. She was thankful every day for the opportunities that were presented to her and for everyone that had helped her along the way.
Her whole life Kaelen had been abused and neglected. Her parents were never home. Her mother was a druggie, smoking weed and shooting up heroin all day. She could never hold a job, and spent away whatever money she got on her drugs. Her father had to keep two jobs just to pay for all of their necessities. He was almost never home. Whatever time he had off, he usually spent at the bar. Kaelen never got any attention from her parents. They never listened to her problems. She was abused, verbally and physically by her mother. Her mother constantly yelled at her and called her names. Whenever Kaelen did something wrong, or didn't listen to her, her mother would throw things at her. She'd chase her throughout the house, catch her and beat her. This happened ever since she was a little girl. Kaelen never thought ther mother loved her. Whenever she'd try and tell her mom that she loved her, or try and give her a hug, her mother would backhand her across the face.
Kaelen usually spent her time at home in her room, away from everyone else. It was here in this room that she developed a love and talent for music. She took band classes at school, but at home she could express herself however she wanted to. In the school band, she played the flute. At home, she taught herself to play the piano and the guitar. She got a job during high school,and saved up her money to buy a keyboard and a couple of music books so that she could learn to play. She had to be careful with hiding her money, because if she didn't hide it well enough, her mother would take it and spend it to further finance her drug habit. Her mother’s issue upset Kaelen so much, mostly because she didn't know how to help her. Her dad wouldn't help. He was too busy with his own little life. He just let his wife be, and no trouble came his way. Kaelen tried several times as a child to take her mother’s drugs and throw them in the trash. She never did this again because her mom went into a furious fit and destroyed the whole house looking for them.
Kaelen was a quiet girl and had few friends. She kept to herself at school, going from class to class, doing her homework, and causing no trouble. She had only one boyfriend, the one she had now. His name was James, and he treated her better than anyone else. They had been together for almost three years. They told each other everything, and Kaelen spent as much time with him as she could. It was a good escape from her home life. With him, she didn't have to worry about being hurt, and she didn't have to worry about dealing with her mom. There was one big secret that they kept between them, and hid from everyone else. Kaelen was pregnant. She was only about two months along and couldn't keep the secret forever. If her parents ever found out, they would definitely kill her. She had never considered having an abortion. That was against her beliefs. James wanted her to move with him to New York, so they could get away from her family and from his. They could start all over, without having to worry about all the problems from drugs interfering with their new baby. Kaelen was excited and agreed to go with him. She would sneak away in the middle of the night from her parents.
. . . . As the cityscape came into view, Kaelen realized she was actually arriving at her destination. Her plane touched ground, and she looked over at her boyfriend with a smile.
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