Hey, here's the newly refurbished chapter 1! I think it's a whole lot better, grammar-wise. Enjoy the better-ness!

Chapter 1

Red's POV

I put the final finishing touches onto my drawing. After admiring it one last time, I sighed, crumpled it up, and tossed it in the trash. My name is Rebecca Parker. I am a fourteen year old living in South Park, Colorado. Why am I drawing pictures just to toss them out, you ask? Well, most of the pictures happen to be of my adopted brother, Token Black. Oh, and another thing... I'm kind of in love with him.

It all started one night as my real dad stumbled into the house after having way too much to drink. I was in my room, listening to Justin Timberlake and doing my homework. Suddenly I heard a banging downstairs and a shriek from my mother. "Uh oh." I muttered, and routinely crawled into my closet, where I usually hid during one of my parents' drunken fights. After a few minutes, I hear somone coming up (or somewhat crashing up) the stairs to my room. I hold my breath, hoping that he won't find me. Suddenly the door swung open, and he yelled "BERTHA ELIZABETH PARKER!" I let out a small squeak as I prepared for his fist to hit my face. The blow was brutal. He knocked me to the ground, and just as he was about to swing again, my mother stormed in and started yelling some sort of gibberish I can barely understand over the throbbing pain of my head. I am sobbing uncontrollably at this point, and I tried to drown out the screams of my parents. The next thing I knew, I was hit by a lamp flung by my mother, and everything went black.

I woke up in the hospital. The light was incredibly blinding. I looked to my right and I saw my friend and neighbor Bebe Stevens, who appears to be asleep. Suddlenly I felt a stabbing pain in my head and I remembered what happened that night. A small moan escaped from my lips. Bebe looked up. "Oh, Hey. You're awake." She smiled at me. I smiled back.

"Where am I? What happened? Where are my parents?" I asked her. She had an apathetic look on her face as she replied,

"Social Services took them away to alchaholic rehab. You are going to have to stay in a foster home for a while." Secretly, I was overcome with releif. I sighed. As I look over to my other side, there was a metal table and I could see my reflection. There was a huge purple bruise on my cheek. My hand flew to the imperfection and I winced as it stung. Bebe noticed my sudden movement.

"Oh, right. Here, I brought my concealer for whenever you come back to school in case... that is still showing." She handed me the bottle just as her phone started to ring. She answered it. "Hey, this is Bebe... Oh, hi...Yeah, I'm still at the hospital with Red. Ugh. Again? Shit. I'll be right there." She was about to ask my permission when I interrupted her.

"Go ahead. I'll be fine." She smiled with gratitude and waved goodbye. I attempted to sit up. The pain had stopped for now at least. I grabbed the remote for the TV off the table and flicked it on. I lied back and tried to relax for the first time in, like, months.