"Our family's little now, and we don't have many toys... But if you want, you could be a part of it. You could be our baby, and we'd raise you to be good. " -- Lilo (lilo & stitch).
++ River was born to Athena Oxford and -----(role open), two people who didn't know each other existed until that fateful night. Athena, a long time drug abuser, would often work the streets of River Rouge, Michigan in hopes of finding lonely men willing to spend their money on an hour of life-affirming orgasms. The money would then be used to supply her habit. (NAME) was just another customer, a member of a motorcycle club from Detroit who had simply been out on a night drive, and perhaps looking for a little fun. Said fun came in the form of Athena, and boy did she rock his world in more ways than one. When told of the pregnancy four months after their meeting, he wanted nothing to do with her nor their unborn child and in turn offered her a large sum of hush money and made her at least promise to not use during those nine months she'd be carrying her child. Why he cared about that so much was a mystery seeing as how he had no intention of ever being part of the kids life. Or maybe deep down he hoped telling her not to use would make her do exactly that and lose the child, or just overdose and he could be rid of the problem all together.
++ When River came into the world, his mother saw him more as a cash cow than a son. She went right back to using, rarely even took care of her child, and would hit up (NAME) for more money when she spent all of what he had initially given her. It wasn't until he was four that his biological father cut his mother off, leaving her to find new ways to make money. She took to the street corners once more, and even tried offering up her son but to no avail. Not at first at least, eventually she found men sick enough to pay her for a few hours spent with River. Incidents like this would occur over several years, as well as physical abuse because he complained or cried, or was even just in the way.
++ At the age of nine, he had become one of those children capable of having dark thoughts. The kind that just wanted everything to stop, the pain, the abuse, the molestation, everything. He was scarred both mentally and physically. Why would his mother ever love him now? On a rare visit from his maternal grandparents, scars on his back were discovered after he flinched away from his grandfather. Charges were pressed against his mother, and several other men that she had given up in exchange for a lesser jail sentence. Custody was awarded to the elderly couple who moved him to Detroit, hoping that at least being in a new city would somewhat help him heal from all the trauma, while not completely uprooting him and traumatizing him even further. He was then seen by a therapist, another attempt his grandparents made to aide the healing process. But, some of those scars ran so deep that the odds of him getting over them were slim.
++ A year after the move, he and his grandparents were involved in a car accident on the way home from going out to dinner when the car was struck head on by a drunk driver. River suffered a few minor injuries and a concussion, but both his grandparents died as a result of their injuries. Given his mother's incarceration and the fact that his biological father waived any and all parental rights, River was awarded to the sate and placed into foster care. Within the first six months of being in the system, he had gone through two foster homes - one just didn't know how to get him to open up and gave up, the other turned out to be a not so great situation that resulted in him going to the hospital with bruises, cuts, and a broken arm. He eventually stopped answering to River and preferred to go by Roo in hopes to finally get his past behind him. For years he continued to be bounced around from foster home to foster home, though some he did manage to stay in for more than six months but nothing ever became permanent. His chances of getting adopted were becoming nonexistent and he remained in his final foster home for a year and a half until finally aging out at eighteen.
++ When he first moved to Detroit, his grandparents lived next door to a couple with a girl about Roo's age. While he wasn't receptive to her at first, (NAME) refused to give up on him even when he scooted away from her if she got too close. Even after the death of his grandparents and the constant bouncing through foster homes, she was the one constant in his life outside of the therapist he continued to see. It took him almost two years to finally trust her, and though she knows almost everything about him now, she still doesn't know about his past and has never even seen him shirtless, not even at a pool or beach. However, she is his best friend and he feels the most comfortable around her even if it's still not completely comfortable.
++ Each passing year has seen a little improvement with him, though he is still very jumpy around most men. He does his best to hide it while at work and in social settings, and he's become efficient in brushing it off or coming up with a quick little lie so people don't think he's weird. However, there have been times where he has freaked out in public and locked himself in the nearest bathroom stall until he could calm down. It's no way to enjoy life, but it's what he knows and it's safe so that works for him. For now at least.
++ Since her arrest and the trial, Roo has had no contact with his mother and he has no intention of ever doing so. She was never given any contact information for any of his foster homes which has made it easier for him to maintain his desire of never speaking with her. He still has no idea who his father is, and there's part of him that's okay with that but the other part is growing with curiosity. He has yet to make any attempt to find out mostly due to being scared to actually meet the man. He didn't want him then, so why on earth would he want him now?
++ After completing online schooling to become a certified veterinary technician, he was offered a tech spot at the Michigan Humane Veterinary Center. He started there at sixteen as someone working in the kennel and worked his way up to veterinary assistant while taking classes. He seems to do okay in that setting, the male veterinarians are soft spoken around him without even knowing anything of his childhood. Working with animals allows him to focus on that when he does start to feel uncomfortable until it passes, it's proven to come in handy a few times already since starting there. His love for music has also earned him a job as a weekend DJ at (NAME), though those situations are a little tricker for him but he's managed to do okay so far.
++ Roo is completely clueless when it comes to the opposite gender. He's aware of girls being beautiful, but that's the extent of it. He rarely flirts or tries to flirt and the small handful of times he's tried he's come off incredibly awkward, resulting in the girls laughing at him and walking away. He's never been intimate with a girl and never even been kissed, though while he is curious about it, he's not really sure about it either. It means having to let someone in his personal space and that's a big issue with him.
++ So far all Roo has figured out of his father is that he's part of the Fallen Angels MC here in Detroit, his roommate is associated with the Fallen Angel's so he's been to the clubhouse a few times with her as well as with his best friend. The guys absolutely terrify him and he's hidden behind his roommate more times than he cares to admit, which likely isn't winning him any points with the Fallen. Not sure why he'd want to win them, but if his dad truly is a member, he'd like to find out. He has to trust the process, but that seems nearly impossible when trust is an issue to begin with.
