Chapter 1
My death was a fairly simple one, if not a bit horrible. I, Jessie Brown, at fourteen years of age, was beaten to death by my foster parents. My biological parents died in a boating accident when I was seven, having no other relatives to take me in, I was dumped into the system.
For the next seven years, I was bounced from house to house, the next usually being worse than the last. Most of the time, I kept my head down and tried to avoid trouble. School was the only place I could express myself, so I was determined to excel.
But unfortunately, everything good must come to an end.
~~~
Unlocking the front door to her latest foster house, Jessie quietly walked in and carefully closed the dinghy door. Tiptoeing through the living room, Jessie paled at the sounds of heavy thuds and slurring voices. Not wanting to deal with her drunk foster parents, Jessie turned around and made for the door, only to trip over an empty beer bottle. The voices quieted before heavy feet made their way closer to Jessie. “Girl, what do you think you’re doing here?”
Gabe and Lexi Smith drunkenly stalked toward Jessie, kicking empty bottles and cigarette cartons out of the way. “I’m sorry, I-I was going to the library to give you two some alone time!” Jessie nervously stammered out.
Lexi sneered at the terrified girl and sent a foot into her gut. “God damn shut up! Your voice aggravates me.” Jessie struggled to catch her breath.
Gabe threw his empty beer bottle at Jessie, smiling when it shattered on her legs. “You know, I’m tired of seeing you around here. You’re a waste of space and a drain of money, a brat that has long overstayed its welcome.”
Attempting to roll over, Jessie winced at the glass embedding itself into her skin. She was not naive enough to misunderstand Gabe and did not want to stick around long enough for him to make good on his words. Before she could get to her feet, Gabe reached down and pulled her up by her forearms and began to roughly shake her.
“You’re fucking useless, you hear me? You waltz into my house and think you’re so much better than us but you’re fucking nothing! If we hadn’t taken you in, you would just be another pimped-out whore on the side of the street,” Jessie began to hysterically cry in terror as his grip loosened only to have a hand appear around her neck and begin to squeeze.
“Do you hear me? Do you fucking understand me? I’m going to kill you dead bitch!” Lexi laughed as Gabe pushed Jessie against the wall and began to slam her head into the wall. All Jessie could do was gasp and sob as he continued to brutalize her head.
Soon, Jessie’s struggles halted, yet Gabe continued to beat her against the wall. Lexi finally stopped her giggles to smack Gabe’s arm. “She’s not moving anymore dumbass.” Slamming Jessie’s limp body against the wall, Gabe finally threw her to the floor.
“Help me put her in the basement with the others bitch.” With a sigh, Lexi grabbed Jessie’s ankles only to drop them at the sound of someone banging on the door.
“The sheriff’s department, open up!” Gabe and Lexi exchanged panicked looks.
“Shit.”
~~~
Jessie opened her eyes to bright, blurry lights shining above her. ‘Where am I? What happened - ‘ Suddenly, the memories of being straggled and slammed into the wall crashed back.
‘I should be dead, they had to of killed me.’ Surprisingly, the thought of death didn’t bother Jessie too much. A soft voice crashed her train of thought. “Oh you both are just stunning, don’t you think so Philip? Petunia, love, come here,” a strong arm cradled Jessie, warmth swaddling her strangely small body.
“Are these my new sisters?” A childish voice asked, the slightest fadings of a lisp in her speech.
Deep chuckles filled the air. “Yes Pet, this is Lily,” a small giggle came from the girl, Petunia. “And this is Primrose.” A finger gently touched Jessie’s nose causing her so blink open her eyes. “Look daddy, Primrose opened her eyes!”
Jessie continued to try and gain her barrings, why was she so small, and who were these people? Why were they calling her Primrose? While she was thinking, gurgles absently escaped her mouth causing Petunia to squeal. “She’s so cute! Mommy, why isn’t the other baby awake?” A fond laugh shook the arm holding Jessie.
“Her name is Lily, a flower just like you, and she’s very, very tired. Babies tire easily.” The little girl hummed. “Well, why isn’t that one asleep?”
“This one is Primrose, the last flower in our family, and she’s already falling asleep, see?” Without noticing, Jessie has begun to close her eyes. Not wanting to deal with this crazy situation, Jessie didn’t even try to fight against the tugging on her eyelids.
~~~
It’s been about three months since I woke up in the hospital as a newborn, and some things have become abundantly clear.
For one, Jessie Brown no longer exists. However, Primrose Evans, twin to Lily Evans and little sister to Petunia Evans, does. This life seems to be favorable towards me. My new parents are all I could’ve wished for after a lifetime of loneliness, they shower all three of us with love and joy. This truly is a second chance to be happy.