Fighting for Love

Chapter1

16 years later

Desiree’s POV

I will be 16 tomorrow. 16 years ago tomorrow, my parents found me in their car. They took me in, adopted me and have been my whole world since. They made me into a strong, kind, loving and bold woman. I am a good kid; don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think my parents were ready for the challenge that came with being my parents. I guess that can be said for any parent of a teenager though. I am a bit stubborn sometimes and tenacious, at least that’s what my parents say. I don’t see it.

I am sitting here thinking about how different my life could have been. I don’t know what the situation was that made my mom give me up and put me in that car. At least that’s what I think happened. But I think she loved me so much that she knew giving me to the Maxwell’s was the best thing for me. I hope she is okay. I can’t imagine what she was going through to make this decision. I thank her every day for loving me enough to put me with these amazing people.

I am Desiree Amari Maxwell. I am 5ft 5in, curvy, with caramel complexion. I have hips, butt a flat stomach and a size 32 C breast. I have gold colored eyes and 3c type hair. I am not fat, but not skinny either. My family says we are all “thick” and that is the description I use. I think one of my parents was Caucasian and one was African American, that explains the hair, but I have never met anyone else with my eye color. I live in Georgia on St Simons Island. I was adopted into a huge family, and I love it. The Maxwell’s have lived on the island since being freed from slavery and own the land they live on. They are descendants of the Gullah people and are extremely proud of their heritage. Mama Gene is the matriarch and the one who keeps everyone in line. Mama Gene is the 2nd oldest of 13 children, only she and Nana Kim are among the siblings still alive. Nana Kim is sickly, so she doesn’t get out to functions much. Between her and her siblings, they had 61 children. There are 135 grandchildren and around 150 great-grandchildren. I am one of the great-great-grandchildren and there are 60 of us. Most of the family still live on the island, but some have moved for school and have stayed inland. But no matter where they are, the family always comes back for big family events. I never questioned my place in the Maxwell family, nor who I am here. Me being adopted is never even bought up, everyone has accepted me as a member of this family. And I don’t think I could ever fit in as perfectly anywhere else as I do here.

Besides my parents, my 2 favorite people are my cousins Leticia and Sharon. Leticia and Sharon are not only my cousins but my best friends. Leticia, Sharon and I are the closest in age, and though I love all my family, there is a special bond with them. I know we will always be together and support each other. If I can’t rely on anyone, I can rely on them. They are both a year older than me, Leticia goes to school with me and Sharon is homeschooled. I arranged my schedule and took extra classes so I could graduate a year earlier, and we could all go to college together. So, we will all be graduating next year. I am so excited, I can’t wait to leave high school. I love living on the island and my family, but I have not had a pleasant experience at the academy. I am ready to begin my next adventure and leave behind some of these past experiences.

Flashback

My boyfriend, Bradley, who I have been dating for 6 months, is coming to pick me up for a party in Brunswick. I am so

excited. This is the first time my parents are really letting up go somewhere alone. He’s 16, and I’m 15. He got his license last month. I still have a 10pm curfew but at least they are loosening the reigns a little. Bradley is a good guy. He is on the baseball team and is really smart. Since we started dating, I have been one of the popular kids. I wasn’t bullied or an outcast before, but being with him has really made me more social. Leticia doesn’t like him much, but she doesn’t talk about him because she knows I love him. Yes, I love him. I know it has only been 6 months, but this is love. He told me he loves me too and when we graduate we are going to go to move to Atlanta. Bradley is so good to me.

He picked me up in his truck, and we went to the party. I didn’t know these people, but they were friends of his older brother. When we got there, people were everywhere. The music was loud and cars were parked all over their yard. I have never been to such a big party. I did find my cousin Calvin there. He did not seem happy about me being at this party, though. He didn’t make me leave but told me he would keep an eye on me. At first, I was excited to be there, but not knowing anyone made it boring. I told Bradley I wanted to leave, and it was too loud. He said we had until 10, and it was only 8:30, so he didn’t want to leave yet. He gave me some punch and told me he would be back. A few minutes after I drank the punch, I started feeling sleepy. I told him this when he came back, and he took me to a bedroom to rest. I didn’t understand why I felt so tired. He put me on the bed and started kissing me. I didn’t mind this because we had kissed before, but the kisses felt different. He then started touching and kissing my breast and unbuttoning my pants. I told him to stop and tried to push him off me, and one time I was able to muster enough strength to kick him, and he slapped me, busting my lip. I kept trying but kept getting weaker. He just kept saying, it’s okay, and he loves me. That is what people who love each other do. I kept trying to fight, but I was too weak. I felt him taking off my pants and panties, then he was rubbing me on my private area. I tried to slap his hands away from touching me, and he got made and slapped me again. I could not believe this was happening to me. He kept saying he’ll be gentle and it would be good. I continued to shake my head and say no, I don’t want to have s*x with him. By now I knew I was drugged and was about to get raped by my boyfriend. But he said he loved me. I then heard screaming and banging, someone started calling my name and then I passed out. I woke up at the hospital with my mom and dad. They said Calvin stopped Bradley and got me out of that house.

Bradley went to jail for that and since then I have been picked on at school. They blame me for what happened and say I seduced him. One of his teammates said I was a w***e and should have just gave him what he wanted. Bradley’s cousin actually attacked me in the girls' bathroom. She gave me a black eye and broke my arm. I ended up back in the hospital after that. We took out a restraining order against the whole family and I always had one of my cousins with me at school after that. I also had my dad enroll me in self-defense classes. I enjoyed the classes so much. I now take Jiu-Jitsu & MMA training classes. This last year has been a lot, some good and a lot of bad, but I have grown from it.

Now that I think about it I was not in love with Bradley, but I did have feelings for him. My parents put me in therapy after that incident. I learned that what Bradley did was not because of love and that people who love you don’t treat you that way. It was also my right to choose who I had s*x with and not to feel bad because of his actions. I cried a lot after that situation, but I am a lot more cautious about who I say I love. It is officially midnight, and I am officially 16. My phone rings, as I knew it would and my cousins are screaming HAPPY BIRTHDAY through the receiver. We talked for a bit, and then I go to bed. I know love is beautiful; I see it every day within my family and feel it from them everyday too. I hope I can have love in an adult relationship too. I don’t want that to be the example of my s****l experiences. But I’m in no rush.