Gate Twenty Two | Adopted By Alex Gaskarth/ Jalex

Prologue

Childhood isn't easy, take it from somebody who had the worst time dealing with growing up. I didn't have much, but I had food on the table and a roof over my head. That was all I needed to be happy, but to know the little joys of life you need somebody to experience them all with.

My older brother comes into play, his name was Matthew and he was a superhero in my eyes. He did everything for me, when mum was in hospital he made me feel like everything was going to be okay. He reassured me that life would get better, that we were the richest people in the world just because we had faith in each other and had glee to go around.

However, all good things must end. At the age of seven, my mother died leaving me and my brother all alone. He was only sixteen at the time and we had nobody to go to. So he did what any responsible sibling would do in that situation, he gave me up so I could have a good life. To ease the pain, he told me that when he was eighteen he'd come and adopt me.. but that day never came

So here I was, seven and all alone. Not a soul that understood me, it was me against the world and I had to learn to survive the salt in the wound - even if it burned at first.

Despite my fears, I had fit in well. I didn't think anybody would understand me, but people did  they shared their sorrow and heartbreak. I had friends, lifelong sisters that I knew would always be there for me now that my brother wasn't.

These were the misfits, the girls that nobody wanted. Our bond was stronger than any that I had before because we all had been through everything, and know we finally had people that understood how we felt.

And that's how my life had been before it happened, a happy little girl - well not so any little anymore. My name is River, I was fifteen at the time and this is how my rapids calmed..