I see my brother with autism, and the fact that he won't be able to experience life the same way as everyone else. The fact that we do not have enough money to give him therapy that will someday make him independent.

My sister, who, because both me and my mother work, and I go to school, has grown accustomed to taking care of my brother, instead of being outside and having fun.

My mother, who has an endless resentment of my father (that left us and started another family), and is now insecure and jealous with everyone she encounters. Her autistic son gives her more problems than happy memories. Her daughter has grown up to be spoiled, and as insecure as her mother. Spoiled, as a result for rewarding her for the too many times she has had to take care of my brother. Rewards as a replacement for a parent's presence tends to do that.

And her ungrateful grown-up sun who rarely shows her signs of affection. My mother has resorted to gambling to fill up her void in life.

My father, who grew tired of my mother's initial insecurities, left his family, that I personally know, loved with all his heart. I see his disappointed face when his kids no longer get happy at his visits. My mother has taught her children to hate their father by telling them things even she knows are lies. The best the kids can do is not be pissed at him. If you keep seeing one side of the story and don't have access to the other, what choice do you have but to believe it, right?

His visits became less often as he saw his children didn't need him anymore.

He left when I was 11. I remember the time like it was yesterday. I was trying not to accept the fact that he was leaving by playing a video game, and trying to put his future permanent absence at the back of my mind. Of course it didn't work; I can't tell you if my life depended on it what video game I was playing. I just know that all my attention was at my father that day.

I'm 18 today. His kids eventually learned to live without him. He's heartbroken. My mother did not let him see the kids. She let him at last when the kids disliked him for leaving us.

When he told me his side of the story, that I had not heard since that day when I was eleven, it had to be the most depressing story I've ever heard. After being fed lies from my mother for so long, I had never considered my father's side of the story. And after living with my mother for 7 years without my father, I got to know her. When my father told me about all the things that my mother did, I believed him, because knowing my mother, she *would* do all those things. Her mistake of being insecure has impacted several lives, including her's, because she never tried to fix it.