1.7 Lost and Found: Part 3 The Origin of Marshal Weaver Part 1

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to get this out. I have a million reasons as to why I took so long to post this. Unfortunately I don’t really have time to tell you all of it… And I’m sorry if this chapter sounds rushed, but it was getting super late, and I really wanted to finish this. Oh, and also, I was going to make his backstory only one chapter… But it ended up being too long, so I had to split it in two. I hope you enjoy the first part of Conrad’s backstory!

 

Also!!! I just recently got a Tumblr! Or, moreso, a simblr… I’m going to try to post there occasionally so that I can keep you guys updated of either Lee or Huggins stuff!

HERE is the site! Feel free to follow me!

 

-Nate

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My real name is Marshal Weaver.

To be able to tell you this story, I have to start it a long time ago. Before you and I were born.

In Sunset Valley, there lived a teenager named Archer Weaver. He came from a rich family, the richest in the whole town, and he had a girlfriend named Brianna Kelly. They really loved each other, but they made a mistake.

A mistake that cost Archer his entire inheritance.

When his father found out about it, he disowned him. Told him that since he thinks he’s man enough to do the deed, that he’s man enough to provide for his pregnant girlfriend and future child.

Something changed in Archer’s heart that day. The constant reminder that he was the heir to the Weaver family, and he lost it all, was enough to make him bitter, and he decided to take the majority of his anger out on his girlfriend.

Physically, mentally and emotionally.

Nine months later, I was born. But, just the sight of me was enough to make my father sink even more into bitterness and resentment.

He became even more violent, with both my mother, and I.

When I was about six years old, my mother decided that though she still loved Archer, she couldn’t continue with the lifestyle that she was currently in.

So one day, when my father was at work, she packed bags for the both of us, and we left.

We had gotten as far as Riverview when my mother started to feel nauseous. We had to slow our pace a lot because she kept needing to stop to throw up. I was getting really worried for her until she told me that she was pregnant.

Because the pregnancy was making her really sick, we decided to stop and stay at a hotel until the baby was born.

——————–

I remember the day that my sister was born as if it was yesterday. It started as the days that we stayed at the Riverview Inn usually did.

When I woke up and walked to our mini kitchen, mom was standing at the stove, making blueberry pancakes. She looked at me and smiled, asking me how many I wanted. To me, it really didn’t matter how many she gave me, as long as I got to see her smile. It wasn’t something that I saw very often when we were living with my dad.

When I finally did respond, she placed two on a plate and set it on the table. She then began to ask me more questions. My opinion of Riverview, whether or not I would like to live there permanently, and so on. When she was in the middle of asking me whether or not I would like to go to school here, she gasped.

She began to clutch her stomach, and was breathing in a weird way.

I remember that I started crying, worrying that she was going to die, when she told me kindly, yet firmly to get her the keys to the car.

After hours of waiting, Nova was born. My mother told me that she decided to name her Nova because Nova means new, and she felt like this was going to be a new start for us.

——————–

A couple days later, mom, Nova and I were finally able to go home. Mom looked really happy, until we reached the hotel, and saw a familiar truck parked out front.

The smile dropped off of her face, and was replaced with a scared look. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that I needed to be quiet, and to take care of Nova until she got back. Then she parked the car, got out, and walked inside the hotel.

I waited there in that car for a few minutes, as Nova slept soundly. I was worried about mom, and had been debating whether or not to go find her, and find out what was wrong. That is, until I heard a crash, and a scream from my mom. I took off my seat belt, double checked on Nova to make sure she was still asleep, and ran into the hotel.

That’s where I saw the person that terrified me the most as a kid. He was pulling mom’s hair, and asked where “he” was. It only took me a couple seconds to realize that the he that he was talking about was me. Unfortunately, it only took a couple seconds for my father to notice me standing there.

I don’t know how he found us, but he did, somehow. And he told us that we were going home, and he was going to make sure that we didn’t leave again.

——————–

“But… what happened to Nova?” Odine asked me. I could only shrug.

——————–

Life at home got even worse after dad found us. He hit much harder, and he didn’t hold his tongue when he insulted us. It would be even worse when he drank. He wanted to make sure that we stayed for good this time.

Especially when he realized that I wasn’t into sports, and I couldn’t live up to the trophy son image that he had in his head. He would say terrible things to me, like tell me that I was a mistake, or an S.O.B. It would hurt when he would say those things to me, but whenever he would say something to my mom, or about my mom, I would feel like someone was stabbing me in the gut. I slowly grew to hate my father more and more.

School was the only place where I could get away from him, and I felt like I could have peace, until I reached high school.

I was teased endlessly for being the fat loser, since all the stress at home didn’t help my weight. I grew tired of it, and in a final effort to protect my mom and I, I got a gun from one of my classmates just in case, but I had hoped that I would never have to use it.

——————–

I remember the day as if it was yesterday. It was a Tuesday, but the school was closed because of summer vacation. I had tried to stay in bed for as long as I could, so that I didn’t have to face him, and when I finally did get up, I took a longer shower than normal.

As I crept out of the bathroom, I looked around to make sure that the coast was clear. I was almost out the front door, when he came up behind me, and pushed the door closed.

I looked at him in fear, as he gave me a look as if I was a mouse that he could toy with. I still here the conversation in my head over and over.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked me. I stutteringly told him that I was heading to the library.

“What makes you think that you can just leave and go wherever you wanted without my say?” He asked me, his voice getting louder with every word. That’s when my mom jumped in the way, apologizing to him, and begging him to let me go, it just made him more angry.

The minute his hand touched her face, I ran to my room without thinking, and I grabbed the gun from under my pillow. I ran back to the living room, and threatened to pull the trigger if he didn’t let her go, and leave us alone.

I only wanted to scare him, I never even intended to shoot. My nerves were on edge, though, and he could tell that I wouldn’t be able to pull the trigger. He began to laugh. He called my bluff and dared me to shoot him. I closed my eyes, and willed myself to kill my father, but I couldn’t. Right when I was about to lower the gun, my father rushed forward and grabbed the gun from my hands. He smacked me in the back of my head, and called me a wimp, saying that I wasn’t a real man if I couldn’t pull the trigger. He then did something that even I didn’t expect.

He turned around, aimed the gun at my mother, and before she could even react, he pulled the trigger.

She was dead before she hit the floor.

I felt my stomach turn, and my throat tighten. I wanted to scream, but when I tried, no sound came out. I leaped forward and tried to take the gun from my dad’s hands. He refused to let it go, and we both struggled for it, until another gunshot rang out.

My dad finally let go of the gun, and looked at me shockingly before collapsing on the floor. Before he died, he gave me a look that will forever be burned into my skull. It was a look that said that this was all my fault.

Seeing the dead bodies of my parents made me sick, and I couldn’t look at them anymore. So I panicked and did the first thing that came to mind. I left.

I got on my bike, and rode away as fast as I could.

——————–

I pedaled until my legs were burning from the pedaling, and my eyes stung from the tears. After a while, my glasses had gotten so fogged up and smudged from both crying and the sweat that was pouring down my face, that I didn’t notice that I was going to ram into the sidewalk until I had already hit it, and fallen over. I gave up on riding it again when I noticed the broken chain.

When I looked around, I noticed that I was in a park that looked strangely familiar. Shaking off my deja vu, I dragged my feet until I came to a nearby bench. Laying down, I felt the rush of adrenaline disappear, and reality crashed down on me. The rush of mixed feelings left me feeling drained, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

I was startled awake when I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder.

“Excuse me,” The person spoke calmly. “But this is the usual spot I go to when I feed the birds.” She then gently shook the bag of birdseed that she was holding. “Would you mind if I sat next to you?”

I sat up, and moved over to give her space. She sat down, and with a polite nod, she thanked me. We sat in silence for a while, as she gently tossed the seed on the floor.

“So I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.” She states. “And I know everybody in Riverview. My name is Evalynn, Evalynn Lee. What’s yours?” I really didn’t feel like engaging in a conversation with a stranger. So I turned my face away from her and looked at the grass.

“Well I have to call you something when I tell my sisters later about the handsome young man that I met at the park today!” She stated happily, and then gave me a warm smile. Her friendliness was beginning to get on my nerves, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was that oblivious, as to not realize that I would prefer to be left alone.

“Well, if you don’t give me a name, I’m going to have to come up with one for you.” She nodded her head as if she had just made a major decision. “Alex? No, too generic. Simon? Nah, too American idol. Cletus? Oh heavens no. The Lord help whoever gives their child that name.” She then snapped her fingers and a light came on in her eyes. “I’ve got it! You remind me of that one actor from The Wild Wild West. Now what was his name? Robert… Conrad! That was it! I’m gonna call you Conrad.” She chuckled and smacked her leg, then put her hand on my arm.

It was meant to be a loving gesture, but I hadn’t been expecting it, so I freaked out, and stood up with my fists clenched. I tried to stare angrily at her, until I noticed her expression. Her jaw fell in shock, eyebrows raised, and eyes filled with fear. It was an expression that I was used to wearing, and my anger slowly melted away, as I realized that I had reacted as my father would have.

“I… I’m sorry.” I said quietly. I brought my hands to my face as my eyes started to tear up again. Evalynn stood up, brushed a stray graying hair from her face, and she approached me. I could tell that she wanted to give me a hug, but thought better of it.

“Hey, it’s alright. No harm done. In fact! I was just about to go have lunch at the bistro. Would you like to join me?” I was about to refuse, but my growling stomach gave me away, and I let her drag me to the bistro.

Evalynn had a way of drawing out specific information, but somehow knew when to stop, so as not to offend anyone. Within the first half hour, she had found out that I was recently orphaned. I was thankful that she didn’t ask me to go into details about why my parents weren’t in the picture anymore, she just offered to let me stay with her and her sisters, until I get everything figured out, and she refused to take no for an answer.

Constance and Mary Ann must have been used to their older sister bringing any old stranger to their house, being a minister and everything, because they seemed unfazed when Evalynn brought me home, announcing that I would be staying there.

Mary Ann simply rushed off to the kitchen, saying that she would prepare a meal, despite my protests, and Constance announced that she would get me a change of clothes, and a towel so that I could shower, before heading upstairs.

When they were gone, Evalynn put her hands on my shoulders, and turned me toward her. With a smile on her face she told me. “Conrad, I don’t know exactly what you’ve been through, but I want you to know that you’ll always have a home here.” She then pulled me into a tight hug. I froze, not used to being hugged, but then I felt myself relax, and let myself hug her back.

I can gladly say that after living with the Lee sisters for a couple of weeks, they really grew on me.

It did take some time getting used to Evalynn waking everyone up shortly after sunrise.

It also took a bit for my stomach to stop twisting every time Constance and Mary Ann would get into an argument, which was a lot of the time. But even when they would, you could tell that they still very much loved each other, and even though they barely knew me, they made me feel as if I had been living with them for years, as if I actually belonged. Because I got so comfortable, I forgot that I had been on the run. Until the day the police came.

——————–

I had been in the bathtub after a very tiring day of martial arts training. Evalynn had begun teaching me, claiming it was therapeutic. Her sisters where also trying to teach me different skills.

Constance was teaching me painting, and Mary Ann was teaching me how to cook. I knew from day one that I connected with art a lot more than I did with cooking, or pretty much anything athletic.

But while Mary Ann backed off when I told her that I had no interest in learning how to make food, Evalynn continued to insist that being active and learning martial arts would be good for me, and help me channel all of my pent up anger. So I let her continue to teach me. But the only thing I could think of as I sat in the warm water was how sore my arms and legs were. Though the fact that my fat was slowly but surely being replaced with muscle was very satisfying. Evalynn was doing some extra training, she could keep going even when I felt like collapsing. Constance was on the balcony, which she called her studio, painting, and Mary Ann was in the study reading a cookbook on how to perfect her lobster thermidor recipe, which turned out to be one of my favorite meals, when they heard the doorbell ring.

Mary Ann went to open the door, and found two cops standing on the porch. She greeted them with a smile, and asked if they would like to come in. With a quick shake of their heads, they held up a photo, and asked if she had seen the person in the picture. She went and grabbed her glasses in order to see the picture, and her heart dropped when she saw my face there. She asked them why, and they told her that the young man in the picture, being me, was responsible for the death of his parents. In a moment of panic, she told the officer that if she did ever see me, she would contact them immediately. She also asked them for a copy of the photo. When they handed one to her, she politely thanked them, and shut the door. She then told her sisters about her conversation with the police officers.

When I got downstairs, all three of them were seated at the dining room table. Sensing that they wanted to talk to me, I sat down on one of the chairs. Mary Ann then told me what happened, and told me that if I intended to stay with them, that I would have to be completely honest with them.

I told them everything. From the time I was born, until the moment that I met Evalynn in the park. I hung my head in shame, believing that now that they knew about me, that they would want nothing to do with me. But instead of kicking me out, they came over to where I was sitting, and gave me a big hug. I started crying, and it took me a second to realize that they were crying also. They said that they were sorry that I had to go through so much. I told them that if I stayed there, they could get in trouble for harboring a criminal. But as I was about to get up, Evalynn put her hands firmly on my shoulders, and told me not to worry, and that they would handle everything. I figured they’d let the subject drop.

Three weeks before my seventeenth birthday was when I started having nightmares about the death of my parents. Details would change here or there on different nights, but the basic gist of the event stayed the same. They were so vivid, that I would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, terrified of sleep.

One of the sisters would have to come in my room just to calm me down and comfort me. Eventually they decided that one of them would stay with me during the night. I guess they couldn’t stand to see me like this, because on the morning of my birthday, I entered the dining room expecting a small get together. I was met with something else entirely.

My blood ran cold as I stared at the figures sitting with Constance and Evalynn at the dinner table. I began to backtrack, when I bumped into Mary Ann, who had been standing behind me. They prompted me to sit down. When I did, they introduced their guests.

George Dean was the only detective in Riverview. While Riverview wasn’t necessarily crime central, Constance told me that he George was a quick-witted genius. He would do his best to make sure that every nook and cranny was inspected.

Lorraine Cantina was a distant cousin of the Lee sisters. Having recently graduated top of her class at Harvard, studying to be a lawyer, she didn’t have much real world experience. But Evalynn reassured me that I could trust that she would work her hardest to represent me in the best way that she possibly could.

I gave them each a polite greeting, all the while gripping onto the chair that I was sitting on for dear life. I asked Evalynn what she meant when she said that Lorraine would represent me. Evalynn then walked over to me, and placed her hand on my shoulder. She instructed me to tell the lawyer and detective my side of the story. With a gulp, I let go of the chair, and began to retell the events of my childhood, not leaving out a single detail. My stomach was in knots, not knowing how the people across the table would react. Being a small town, I wasn’t sure if they were trustworthy enough to keep my secret.

As I told them the story, I stared at their faces, trying to see if they might react in a certain way. Unfortunately, their facial expressions didn’t change, which made me all the more nervous. I stared at the table as I eventually reached the part where I met Evalynn at the park.

George scratched his chin, then stood from his chair. He gave each woman a hug, stating that he was going to head down to the station. When I began to freak out, he told me that all he was going to do was find out as much as he could about my case. With a quick nod in my direction, he opened the front door, and left.

Lorraine then began to bombard me with questions. She wanted, and needed to know every single detail, and would write notes on a notepad that she had been holding. I provided as much answers as I could, until I felt like I was naked. As if every single part of me was being put on display for the whole world to see.

She then had me retell the story a couple of times, her eyes never leaving whatever it was that she wrote down on that notepad. When I reached the point that I felt completely exposed, she snapped her notepad shut, and politely excused herself.

I tried to take deep breaths when Lorraine had left, but all I could feel was this tightness in my chest. An overwhelming sense of dread came over me.

I sprang up from the chair, accidentally shoving Evalynn a little bit, and ran outside.

I rushed over to the barn beside their house, and crashed through the door. I walked over to one of the practice dummies that Evalynn and I have been using. I tried to relax, using the breathing exercises that Evalynn had taught me, but all I could think about was my current situation, and how scared I was. I began to get frustrated, and frustration quickly turned into anger.

Needing to get some of my aggression out, i punched the training dummy. Unfortunately, I punched it harder than I intended to. I screamed in pain, and brought my injured hand back, cradling it with my other hand. I kicked the dummy, not thinking about the fact that I wasn’t wearing shoes. I yelled even louder, and began hopping on one foot. I was about to smack the dummy with my uninjured hand, when I heard a voice behind me.

“Ya know, if I didn’t work the first two times…” I turned around, and saw Mary Ann, standing a couple of feet away from me. I sighed, and let me arms fall at my side. I attempted to glare at her, but I didn’t have any energy to stay mad. I was so terrified of what would happen. I felt like a small child again, cowering in fear as my dad would hit me or my mother.

She walked over to me, and put her hand on my shoulder in a comforting manner. That touch was enough to break down the walls that I had, and I pulled her into a hug.

I began to cry, telling her that I was so scared of what might happen. She gently put her hand beneath my chin, and lifted my face so that I could look at her. She told me that while there is a risk that something bad would happen, she also told me to think about the possibility of being free. Not having to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life. Being able to finish school, and maybe take it further. Meeting someone, having a family. Living a fulfilled life.

It sounded like a very nice possibility, but I had trouble believing anything like that could happen to me. Mary Ann moved her hands to my shoulders, and told me gently, yet firmly, that no matter what happens, they would always be there for me. After she said that, I nodded my head slowly, and gave her an other hug. I was still feared the worst, but I was going to, at least, try.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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Thanks for reading guys!!! I will try to get the 2nd part up at soon as possible. Oh, and special thank you to my fiancé Jacqueline, for motivating me, and helping me so that I could post this! Love you babe!!!

Posted by phyrcracker93 on July 30, 2014

https://theleelegacy.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/1-7-lost-and-found-part-3-the-origin-of-marshal-weaver-part-1/