"Tonight!?" Nesh asked, "how is he gonna be able to get everything sorted in one night?"

"Since the inception of our crew, you've made a good amount of money, right?" Mayr asked Kris. "For a highschooler, yeah." replied Kris. "How much do you have saved up?" Mayr further questioned.

"About 2 grand." Kris replied.

"Alright, take your mother and live in hotels for a few weeks." Mayr instructed, "over these few weeks, try to find a place to live. We'll help you with this in any way we can. Starting next week, your sect, sect 2, will have 10 members and will be selling in 5 locations. These sales will be bringing in an estimated 8 grand a week. After paying your members the usual $20 an hour for 2 hours a day, you should have $6000 coming in weekly. Until you get your living situation settled, you are not required to pay any tribute. The 6 grand should be more than enough for you to survive on."

"I'm just worried that he'll give us trouble." said Kris, "I don't even know how I'd tell my mom to just go along with this."

"You know your mother better than anyone," Mayr replied, "I'm sure you can figure out a way to convince her. As for that bald bastard, if he causes you any trouble, I'm one phone call away."

Kris's face brightened up and a smile came on his face. The first genuine smile he had given since the incident. "Thanks, Soju". This was all Kris said, but the gratitude that he had for Mayr and the crew was almost tangible.

-

The crew separated and Kris began walking towards his house. As he was walking, he was trying to build up the courage to stand up to his step-father. He thought about what he would do once he confronted him.

"Should I shout back? Should I get physical?" These were the thoughts that went through Kris's mind.

As Kris was thinking about what he would do once he got home, thoughts of the past year started flooding his head. Thoughts of him going to sleep distressed about what had transpired and fear of what was to come. He remembered how his mother and father loved him and how his mother did her best for Kris once his father was gone. He remembered how his loving mother was physically and emotionally assaulted by this man on almost a regular basis.

As these thoughts drifted through Kris's mind, the anxiety that he was previously feeling began rapidly changing into a rage. This was the first time he had let his mind freely traverse his true feelings for this man.

By the time Kris reached his front door, he didn't even have a plan, simply a mission. This mission was to get his mother and leave the house. He was not going to let anything get in his way.

It was around 8pm and the sun had set. Before walking into the house, Kris went into the garage and picked up a baseball bat.

Usually, Kris would slowly open the front door and timidly walk into the house. Today, Kris opened the front door with no hesitation and slammed it shut.

The man walked out of the living room and saw Kris standing at the entrance with a baseball bat in his hand and an expression that he had never seen on him before, one of rage.

"First you bring people into my house," the man began to say, "and now you slam my door? Looks like I really need to teach you a lesson". The man started moving towards Kris, but as soon as he took the first step, Kris raised the bat and pointed it at his face.

"You take another step towards me and you're gonna end up with less teeth than hair, you bald piece of shit!"

"What the hell did you just say to me!?" The man said angrily. Hearing the commotion, Kris's mother walked down from her room upstairs. She had developed a new bruise on her arm. "What's going on?" she asked gently.

"Get your things mom," said Kris, "we're leaving."

"What!?" both Kris's mother and the man exclaimed. "Kris," his mother said, "I know you might be angry, but he's your new fath-"

"Don't say another word!" Kris yelled with his voice filled with rage, "This piece of shit couldn't live up to the dirt under my father's shoes! We're getting our things and leaving!"

"Oh, you're gonna leave?" the man said condescendingly, "And then what? Beg for each meal? You couldn't go a day without me!"

"That's none of your business." Kris replied in a calmer voice, "Mom, get your things, I'm getting tired of asking."

Hesitantly, Kris's mom gathered all of her and Kris's small belongings, put them in a bag, and walked out the door. Kris walked out behind her and shut the door.

As they were walking Kris could sense the anxiety that his mother was feeling. "Mom, you don't have to worry about anything anymore." said Kris to calm her down, "I've gotten a job that I can do alongside school. I'll make sure you never have to deal with men like that for money again."

"But Kris," his mother replied, "you're just a highschool student. I know you have your youthful determination alongside you, but the world is cruel. How are you going to make ends meet for weeks and months?"

Kris looked at his mother with a confident smile and simply said "Just have faith in me, mom."

After about a 25-minute walk, Kris and his mother arrived at a hotel. They walked in and Kris booked a room for himself and his mother.