The Finale Read Online Free Page A

begging the man for mercy.
    â€œBitch, you should have thought about that before you decided to cross me,” the giant said, hoisting her up and throwing her up against the wall.
    She hit the wall with a thud and slid down, her body going limp like a rag doll. She continued to scream and beg for her life as the man pounded on her, his fist landing at will, each punch harder than the one before.
    â€œYou like to smoke crack? You like to steal from people, bitch?” the man growled as he lifted her weak body up so he could get to her face. With the force of a Mack truck he backhanded her, sending one of her teeth flying from her mouth. Blood covered her face and hugged the floor around her. “Now, I expect to get my money by tomorrow, or you and these bastard trick babies of yours gonna be dead.” The man spewed a wad of spit on her crumpled form.
    Five-year-old Derek and his four-year-old brother Stephon cowered in a corner, with Derek trying to shield his brother from harm, as usual. Although he was only five, Derek often acted as if he were ten or eleven. On the nights his mother disappeared or stayed holed up in her bedroom with different men, he would pour cereal or make a sandwich out of whatever was there for him and his little brother, who his mother had nicknamed Scar because of his misshapen head and the scar that dragged down one side of his face, making his head resemble a boulder. He would make sure his brother washed his face and brushed his teeth before they went to bed.
    â€œRock-a-bye baby, on the tree top,” she would sing to her younger son. She would call Derek her “baby genius” and tell him he was destined for greatness.
    People often thought Derek and Scar were fraternal twins because they were the same size. Although Scar was a year younger, he was always just as big as Derek.
    When he was sure the giant was gone, Derek got up and went to his mother’s side. “Mommy?” He nudged her frantically. He thought she was dead for sure. “Mommy!” he called out again, urgency rippling through his words.
    Finally his mother shifted and winced in pain. Then she moaned and turned over. Struggling to get up and barely able to speak through her swollen lips, she rushed her boys to put on their coats.
    Afraid and visibly shaken, Derek followed his mother’s instructions and helped Scar into his coat and put on his own. Their battered mother rushed them out of the apartment, looking around nervously the entire time. Once they were outside, she let her motherly instincts take over. She ignored the massive pains ripping through her entire body and walked at a fast pace to get her children far away from the potential danger.
    Derek could keep up, but Scar had a hard time, and he gasped for breath because he had to jog just to keep in step.
    After walking for what seemed like an eternity, the trio finally came to a middle-class white neighborhood that Derek had remembered passing on numerous occasions and wishing he lived there.
    â€œGo in there, and y’all stand right by that green dumpster. Don’t move until I come back. You hear me, Derek?” his mother said, her words garbled and her face becoming more swollen by the minute.
    â€œWhen you coming back?” Derek asked, shivering.
    â€œTake care of your brother, okay? He is special, and don’t you let nobody bother him about his face. You hear me?” Her body quaked with sobs.
    â€œWhen you coming back?” Derek asked her again, an ominous feeling taking over him.
    His mother shoved them along. “Just take care of your brother.”
    As they started ambling forward slowly toward the dumpster, their mother turned and limped away, her heart breaking as she went farther and farther away from them. She knew somebody would find them there and take care of them. She feared that if she had kept them, her addiction would’ve eventually gotten them killed.
    Scar began crying out,