I wasn't from the wrong side of the tracks. It was because of me that there was a wrong side.

My children may have respected our name, held it with pride. But without me, there would be no name that deserved protection.

Fifteen years old, without a home, Rebecca Townsend decided to save me. Her family took me in, a white trash boy without two nickels to rub together. Even when they found out I got her pregnant, they still claimed me to be one of their own.

But, too soon did my pride get in the way of what mattered. I started selling and stealing to buy diapers for my baby girl. My best friends from childhood were all too eager to show me the ropes. Issy, Damian, and Patch, we knew what it took to make ends meet. We never had enough, not when you came from nothing, being satisfied wasn't an emotion we could ever accomplish.

Now, most of the people I loved were buried deep beneath the cursed soil.

Rebecca laid down one day, Leonie, in her arms and faded from our lives. Damian got a few bullets to the chest, walking home from the grocery store. Then Luna, the spark of strange that created an angel steamrolled by a truck.

Well, we all die someday, mine hasn't come yet. I may have failed the ones who fell victim to life's cruel lessons. But I was about to avenge every wrongdoing. Karma was going to learn some strategies from the king.

MOROSIS: Lennox's Hard Knocks is the 5th book in the Mum's The Word Series

18+ Mature Content, Explicit Language and Sexual Scenes, Abuse, and Violence, Alcohol, and Drug Use.