My Twelve Street-Grown Brothers

My biological mother thought my six-year-old self was a drag on her chances of marrying into a wealthy estate. So, she dumped me under a highway overpass.

To get a bite of food, I grabbed the leg of a passing street punk and wouldn't let go.

Hey, big brother, your boots are dirty. Let me wipe them for you.

"Hey, big brother, are you thirsty? I can go steal some water for you."

A bunch of street punks looked down at me. "Damn, this kid knows how to hustle. Fine, let's keep her. She's our little sister now."

From that day on, I had twelve gangster brothers.

They never taught me any grand life philosophies. They only taught me one thing: if someone bullies you, beat them to a pulp.

Because of this, in twelve years, my twelve brothers had never actually been in the same room together.

Either one was doing time for breaking someone's leg, or another was locked up for cracking someones ribs.

But against all odds, I studied hard, got into college, and became the only university student from our run-down neighborhood.

Yet, on the very first day of classes, my roommate lost her luxury necklace and pointed the finger straight at me.

Our academic advisor, the dorm supervisor, and the roommate's rich parents marched right to my place, demanding to search it.

I blocked the doorway. "Can we please just resolve this at the school office?"

The roommate's mother shoved me aside. "Guilty conscience, huh? I want to see exactly what kind of trashy home breeds a thief!"

I stood at the door of my off-campus place, looking at Mrs. Miller, our academic advisor, who had her usual "just-following-protocol" face. Behind her stood a middle-aged couple practically dripping in designer labels, and Chloe, my roommate, leaning against the hallway wall with a smug smirk.

"May," Mrs. Miller said, adjusting her glasses. "If you really have nothing to hide, you should let us and Chloe's parents take a look inside. Its the best way to clear your name."

Chloes mother sneered at me, scanning me from head to toe before her eyes settled on my faded, worn-out canvas sneakers. She let out a loud, dramatic sigh.

Chloe stepped forward, lowering her voice, but making sure everyone in the hallway could hear:

"May, you could barely afford the tuition deposit, right? I heard youre only here on financial aid. With your background, who else would steal my four-thousand-dollar Tiffany necklace? Who's going to believe you?"

I ignored her and looked straight at Mrs. Miller. "Mrs. Miller, can we please just handle this through the campus board?"

"Why are you so scared?"

Chloes father took a step forward. He had a massive gold pinky ring and pointed his finger right in my face.

"My daughter's necklace is the latest Tiffany collection! Four grand! If it wasn't you, then who? We are searching your place today. I want to see what kind of trashy family raises a thief!"

Chloe laughed out loud beside him.

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.

"Fine," I said. "Lets go."

As we walked out of the campus gates, Chloe kept pace right next to me, her high heels clicking loudly on the pavement.

"May, do you even know who bought me that necklace? My boyfriend. The one who drives the Mercedes," she said, tossing her hair. "Honestly, you're not ugly. Why do you do stuff like this? Why not just find a guy to take care of you? Whats the point of finishing college if youre just going to be broke forever?"

I stopped and turned to look at her.

"Was that Mercedes rented or borrowed?" I asked flatly. "Because last week, I saw him riding a rental scooter outside the gate."

Chloes face went rigid.

Her mother overheard and immediately rushed over. "How dare you speak to my daughter like that! Chloe's boyfriend is in business! What does a charity-case student like you know about anything?!"

I didn't reply. I just kept walking.

But my mind drifted back to my twelve brothers.

When I was six, my birth mother, Eleanor, abandoned me under a highway overpass because I was getting in the way of her marrying a rich guy. She left me with twenty dollars and never looked back.

I huddled under that overpass for two days, dizzy with hunger. Then, I saw a crew of guys walking down the alley.

The leader had bleached blonde hair, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and walked like he owned the streets.

I was tiny, but I had survival instincts.

I rushed out and wrapped my arms around his leg.

"Hey, big brother, your boots are dirty. Let me wipe them for you."

"Hey, big brother, are you thirsty? I can go steal some water for you."

The crew looked down at me.

"Kids got game," the blonde guy said, spitting out his cigarette. "Fine, were keeping her. Shes our little sister now."

From that day on, I had twelve brothers.

The oldest was Jax, the blonde leader.

The second was Leo, the big guy with a scar across his face.

The third was Blade, skinny as a rail.

The fourth was Hammer, the one with fists like iron.

All the way down to the twelfth, whom we called Gizmo. He picked the name himself, saying a weird street name keeps you safe.

They never taught me morals. They only taught me one rule:

*If anyone messes with you, let your fists do the talking.*

So, for twelve years, the twelve of them were never all together. Someone was always in county jail for breaking a collarbone or cracking a rib.

But they loved me fiercely.

When I was a kid, we were dirt poor. We lived in a rundown trailer park that leaked rain in the summer and let in freezing wind in the winter. But my plate always had the best cuts of meat, scooped out of my brothers' own bowls.

When I was seven, a boy at school cut a chunk of my hair off and mocked me for having no parents.

I didn't cry. I didn't say a word when I got home.

But Jax somehow found out.

The next day, that boy showed up to school with a completely shaved head, crying his eyes out all day.

When the teacher asked who did it, the boy just whimpered that someone had pinned him down in the bathroom with a razor.

When I asked Jax about it, he was eating instant ramen and didn't even look up. "What? I was at the internet cafe all night. Don't look at me."

But I saw the electric clippers tucked in his back pocket.

When I was eight, a local creep tried to touch my face in the alley.

Again, I said nothing.

But the next day, that creep was kneeling in front of our porch, his face swollen like a balloon, begging for my forgiveness.

Blade was leaning against the wall, smoking. He smiled when he saw me. "Hey, sis. This guy wanted to apologize, so we helped him find his manners."

Later, I found out Blade had taken on that creep and four of his friends by himself. Blade spent two weeks in the hospital, but when he came home, he brought me a cheap hair clip.

"Got it from a street vendor for two bucks. Don't hate it," he grunted.

I still have that clip.

...

"May! Why are you walking so fast? Guilty conscience?"

Chloe's voice snapped me back to reality.

She jogged up to match my pace, a smug smile plastered on her face.

"Are you scared of us seeing how you live? I heard the area you live in is basically a slum. Are you renting some sketchy room? Or do you live with your weird relatives?"

I ignored her.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out and saw a text from Gizmo, my youngest brother.

*Hey sis, how was orientation? Get your butt home quick, the guys put together a huge surprise for you!*

A surprise.

My palms started sweating.

I knew exactly what their "surprises" looked like.

The day I finished my high school exams, they said they had a surprise. I ran home excited, only to find a guy kneeling on our living room floor. It was a bully from the high school next door who used to corner me for lunch money. My brothers had handled him before, but that day, he was black and blue, sobbing.

"I'm sorry! I'll never do it again! Please tell your brothers to let me go..."

Jax was sitting on a lawn chair, eating watermelon. He tossed the rind aside when he saw me. "Sis, this guy wanted to apologize face-to-face. We just facilitated. You satisfied? If not, I can make him kneel a bit longer."

What was I supposed to say?

So, seeing the word "surprise" now made my heart race.

Chloe leaned over to peep at my screen before I could lock it.

"Ooh, who's texting you?" she sneered. "Some street trash boyfriend? Figures. With your background, youd only attract lowlifes."

I shoved the phone into my pocket and remained silent.

She leaned in closer, whispering, but loud enough for Mrs. Miller and her parents to hear.

"May, are you embarrassed of your home? Don't worry, being poor isn't a crime." She tossed her hair. "But stealing is. That necklace is four grand. You can't even pay your tuitionhow are you going to pay me back? If you hand it over now, we can settle this privately. Otherwise, once we search your place and find it, I'm calling the cops."

I stopped walking.

"I didn't take it."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Sure, you didn't. Lets see what you say when we find it."

Her mother caught up and grabbed my arm tightly. "Why are you stopping? Trying to run?"

"I'm not running," I said, trying to pull away.

"Not running?" Her mother gripped harder, her sharp acrylic nails digging painfully into my skin. "You look like you're about to bolt! We should hold her down, otherwise, she'll run for sure!"

Chloe chimed in immediately, "Yes! Hold her!"

Mrs. Miller turned around, frowning, but she didn't stop them.

Chloes father walked over. "Mrs. Miller, I agree. If she runs, who pays for the four-thousand-dollar necklace? We need to secure her."

Mrs. Miller hesitated, then nodded. "May, just cooperate for now. It's for everyone's peace of mind."

Chloes mother pulled a nylon strap from her designer bag, trying to bind my wrists.

I violently yanked my arm back.

"Back off."

Chloes mother gasped.

Chloe froze.

Mrs. Miller's frown deepened. "May! Show some respect to your elders!"

"I said, back off," I glared at them. "I didn't steal anything. You have no right to bind me."

Chloes father lunged forward to grab me.

I dodged.

Chloe sneered, "May, you want to fight? I can get you arrested for assault!"

"Go ahead," I spat, staring her down.

Her father lunged again. I raised my hand to block, and somehow, my fist connected squarely with his jaw.

Honestly, I don't even know how I threw that punch.

Maybe it was the muscle memory from the self-defense moves my brothers drilled into me, or maybe I was just pushed to my limit.

Chloes father groaned, stumbling back against the brick wall.

"You struck my husband!" Chloes mother shrieked, throwing herself at me and grabbing my hair.

Chloe joined in, clawing at me.

Mrs. Miller was shouting "Stop it! Stop it!" from the sidelines, but no one listened.

I was pinned to the gravel ground. My scalp burned from being pulled, and I took a couple of hits to the face. During the scuffle, something slipped out of my pocket and clattered onto the concrete.

It was a jade amulet.

A pale green piece, carved in the shape of a little rabbit.

Blade had given it to me.

On my thirteenth birthday, Blade had just gotten out of county jail after a three-month stretch for protecting his crew. He was visibly thinner, but he smiled when he saw me and pulled this amulet from his pocket.

"Happy birthday, sis."

When I asked where he got it, he just told me not to worry about it, that it was a good piece.

Later, Jax told me Blade had taken it from some rich prick who tried to hustle their crew. The guy used the jade to buy his way out of a beating. Jax said it was worth a lot of money and told me to keep it safe.

I had kept it close to my chest for years. I never took it off.

Chloe snatched the jade off the ground.

"What's this?"

She turned it over, her eyes lighting up.

"Mom, look! This is real jade!"

Her mother leaned in, and the two whispered frantically.

Then Chloe looked up at me, triumphant.

"May, you can't even afford college. Where did you get a piece of jade like this? This is worth thousands! You definitely stole this from somewhere!"

"Give it back!" I scrambled up from the ground, reaching for it.

Chloe held it high, stepping back.

"You dare try to steal it back?" Her mother shoved me away. "This is clearly stolen property! We're giving this to the police!"

"Give it back!"

I lunged, grabbing for the amulet.

In the chaotic struggle, there was a sharp, sickening *crack*.

The jade flew out of Chloe's hand, smashed against the brick wall, and fell to the pavement.

It shattered.

It broke into several pieces. The little carved rabbit split right down the middle.

I froze.

Chloe froze too.

Then she shrugged. "Whatever. It was stolen anyway. Lets go to your place. I want to see what else youve hidden."

I knelt down, carefully picking up the broken shards of jade, cradling them in my palm.

My eyes stung.

But I didn't cry.

My brothers told me: *Our family doesn't cry.*

I tucked the shards into my pocket, stood up, and kept walking.

Chloe muttered behind me, telling her mom I was definitely a serial thief. I ignored them.

After a ten-minute walk, we reached the trailer park at the edge of the city.

The alleyways were narrow, littered, and overhead wires hung like chaotic spiderwebs.

Chloe laughed out loud.

"May, you actually live here? Is this even fit for humans?"

Her mother covered her nose. "Ugh, what is that smell? Disgusting!"

Chloes father, nursing his bruised jaw, sneered, "No wonder she's a thief. Growing up in a dump like this, how else would she survive?"

Mrs. Miller pinched her nose but remained quiet.

I walked up to our rusty metal gate.

Chloe nudged me. "What are you waiting for? Open it! Lets see your little rat hole."

Her mother added, "Yes, open it! Get your parents out here! I want to see who raised a brat like you!"

I pulled out my keys, my hands trembling slightly.

Not out of fear.

But because I could see shadows moving through the cracks of the door. There were voices.

More than one person was home.

I pushed the door open.

And I stopped dead in my tracks.

Sitting in the living room was a massive circle of men.

Twelve of them.

Every single one was there.

Jax, the oldest, still had his bleached hair, but today it was neatly combed. He wore a brand-new T-shirt and actually looked presentable.

Leo, the second, still had his facial scar, but he had squeezed into a buttoned-up white shirt, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

Blade, skinny as ever, sat upright, smiling the moment he saw me.

Hammer, the fourth, sat with his hands on his knees, posture perfectly straight.

The fifth, the sixth, the seventh...

All the way to Gizmo, who had actually washed his hair and slicked it back with so much gel a fly would slip off it.

On the table in front of them sat a massive cake.

Written on it in clumsy frosting was: *Congrats on College, Sis!*

Jax was the first to stand up, smiling as he walked toward me. "May, you're back! We were waiting for you. It's your birthday, so we all chipped in and got a"

He stopped mid-sentence.

He saw the people behind me.

He saw the red marks on my face.

He saw my messy hair, my dirty clothes, and the mud on my sleeves.

The smile vanished from Jax's face.

Leo stood up.

Blade stood up.

Hammer stood up.

One by one, all twelve of them stood up.

Behind her mother, Chloe whispered, "Who are these guys? May's relatives?"