Discover Mare Martell

08/11 :  There was once a pregnant woman

   14 1/2 years ago, a child was born into this world. He wasn't wanted by his mother. He wasn't wanted by his Grandfather. He was coveted by his Grandmother, so much so that she lied to gain possession of someone that wasn't meant to be hers. Eight years passed as did the Grandmother, his brother removed from the home, and minimal contact with his birth-mother.

A month after his mother figure died, the Grandfather brought a replacement into the home. Without any time to grieve, the boy was pressured to accept her. Five months after that, his Aunt, her friend and her friend's boyfriend moved in as well. They were gone in four months. The Grandfather's girlfriend sexually molests him while she is in a black out drunk. He is bullied into recanting his story.

A year goes by, then the Aunt and her fiance moved back in and stay for a year and a half. His only friends up until then had been the characters on Nickelodeon. They moved out because the stress of living in the house is extremely high.

When he got abandoned by yet another person he loved, he began to act out. With apathy ruling the household, alcoholism running rampant, and self-medication the only role models he has, he follows suit. At first he just smokes pot. This soon escalates, with the help of his friends and his at home emotional abusers, to selling. He also begins to vocalize his disdain for his abusers. He got caught with pot after having sold it to junior high school kids.

The Grandfather blames the schools, not himself. He says, "They saw the little fucker was going to be a problem since head start and didn't do a damn thing about it. They've failed him." I hear, "I'm sick and I don't have the tools to handle an emotionally distant child. It's my fault, but I can't admit that. That would mean I am wrong. That would mean that I've made mistakes. That would mean that maybe I should have listened to him when he WAS telling me the truth." Those are things that will never be said.

The Girlfriend denies any involvement because that would implicate her in a heinous crime that she wouldn't be able to live with. She drinks and smokes pot to hide the shame, pain, and horror of a lifetime of bad choices.