Emancipation.

Lynell being forced out of our home was devastating. It broke my heart and shattered my world. He wasn’t a street man or a wealthy man, but he was my dad and the anchor of stability in my world. Now what? Will the next road be a dead end? I don’t know, but I ran to find out.

That day when Lynell closed the door to his car and drove off, I ran into the back field behind the house until I found myself locked in the restroom of a Subway restaurant. I didn’t know where to go next. The employees were scared, so they called the police for help. When they arrived, I told them what had happened. They asked if there was someone I could call for help. I called my sister Michele. She and her husband Charles met the police and I at the house to help me gather my things.

I was conflicted. I was leaving, but my brothers Dre and Lester stayed. Would they be safe? Would they behave? Would they eat? Would they go to school? I didn’t know. But if I was ever going to have a chance to change things for either one of us, I knew leaving was the only way.

Weeks later, I told mother I wanted to emancipate. She looked at me and rolled her eyes then said, “Fine by me.” She didn’t cry or tell me she loved me. She signed the papers.

S