Born into a family of ten, Zach struggled as a child. His mother, Laurie, stayed at home all day while his dad went to work. As soon as the oldest one was of age, they were put right to work. Sisters were taught how to clean the house and cook, while men were taught how to do outside work. All siblings attended school. But Zach did not like school. He would ride the bus to school and leave after an hour or so. He got himself into trouble and mischief. He thought school wasn’t important and that he would be fine without it but this was the biggest mistake of his life.
One morning Laurie told him he had to come home straight from school. He was curious as to what was going on. Zach attended school and went straight home. His mother and father were sitting in the living room, his mother was sobbing with her hands covering her face. His siblings were downstairs playing. They were called to come upstairs. His parents had terrible news.
“Your father has lung cancer, the doctor told us he....” Laurie couldn’t finish her sentence.
“I don’t have a lot of time to live. They told me a month, but I haven’t been feeling good lately. A month will go by fast and I want you kids to know that I love you. You all have to stick together and listen to your mom. The house will be different without me. You boys have to do what I taught you to do and have to be the men of the house. Take care of your mother and sisters.” their father said with a raspy voice.
A week later, at age thirty-eight his father died when Zach was only fifteen. He was close with his father and he was very upset. He could see his mom was struggling and decided he needed to help her. He didn’t care to get a job so thought of ways to get fast money. An idea popped in his head, drugs. So, this is the way he went. It was fast and easy money so why not. He said he would only do it at night to avoid getting caught. He started selling to friends from school when it got dark. Those friends then told their other friends, and in no time he was selling big amounts. He was making a lot of money.
A friend couldn’t get it at night and asked to buy after school, somewhere where nobody would see them. Zach agreed. It was all about the money. He showed up to the meeting spot. The corner of Seventh and Main St. It was a dark alley where nobody hung out at during the day. The deal would only last a minute and then he would be out. He met his friend, it took about thirty seconds and he was out. He walked home thinking, that was easy, he could now do it during the daytime, so he did. Zach started selling at all hours and was making so much money he didn’t know what to do with it.
Having so much money made Zach happy. He decided that he wanted to go to school. He wasn't going to leave. He would attend school full days, well mostly, skipping last hour once in awhile and doing his drug deals after school, until he had to go home for dinner. A friend’s friend asked him to pick up after school and he agreed. Zach met at the usual spot. This was a big amount. He took out his bag and right there got handcuffed at age seventeen. He cursed out the policeman until he couldn’t anymore.
“What the hell!! You set me up this isn’t fair, this is bullshit.” Zach yelled out.
He thought, what have I done. His mom is going to be ashamed of him. He didn’t want to
know what was going to happen when he got back. Zach bailed himself out the next day and went home.
Never finishing high school, Laurie, made him get a job. Zach worked at the car body repair shop down the street. He had to check in with her multiple times a day so she knew he wouldn’t be in trouble. He worked at the shop for ten years, where he met his wife, Maggie. She came in one day with oil troubles. From there started talking and eventually started a family and had a daughter named, Zoey. They moved states and raised her together, until they started having marriage issues. Zach started abusing her. Maggie put up with it for a while, until she couldn’t take it anymore. She filed for a divorce and that was it. Maggie left with Zoey leaving him alone.
Zach rented an apartment for himself and had to start his life all over again. He once again  found a job, working on cars. The shop was an escape for him. Even though he was an abusive man, he had feelings. He was stressed and very upset about what had happened. He was ashamed of his own actions and couldn't believe the damage that he made. The love of his life was gone, along with his daughter. He wondered if he would ever see her again. He wondered where they may have gone.
Months passed and Zach was still alone. He thought to himself, he should have the right to see his daughter. He couldn’t take back his actions but he could still be a father to this little girl. He decided that he was going to talk to a lawyer to see what he could do. He met up with him and had told him what had happened. They decided that they were going to fight for custody of this child or at least get visitation privileges.
May 19th, 2004. The day had arrived. Maggie had received papers two weeks prior, stating that she had to show up in court for custody of Zoey. Zach arrived forty two minutes early. He sat in his car for twelve minutes. He wondered what the results were going to be. He hadn’t seen Maggie and Zoey for thirteen months. Would his Zoey look like him or her? Would she recognize him? Probably not, she was barely one. He unbuckled his seatbelt slowly. His right hand reached for his keys and he quickly pulled away. Zach wanted to go home, he didn’t want to be here. He had to do this. He finally turned the car off, put his keys in his pocket, grabbed his collar and tugged to straighten it out. He got out of his car slowly. Zach locked his car and he was on his way. His trial was going to start in thirty minutes and he had to meet with his lawyer.
He walked into the large building. An officer was at the door, telling people to put their cell phones and bags into a bin and have it go through security. He walked through the metal detector and was all clear. Zach grabbed his wallet, belt, keys, and moved along. He met with his lawyer and recited what he had to say. They walked into the court together. There was Zoey, she was so beautiful. She had his small nose and curly hair. Maggie glared at him with disgust. The trial started. Crying, yelling, and disappointment filled the room. The decision was made and set. Zach was able to visit Zoey Sunday's and Wednesday's from 1-3pm.
He approached Zoey after the trial was over. She looked at him and smiled, as if she knew he was her father. He gave her a tight hug. He never wanted to let go.
Maggie said, “Ok that’s enough, you’ll see her on Sunday.”
Zach accepted it and said goodbye to Zoey. He was so relieved that it was over and happy that he now had a chance to be a father to this little girl. He had to prove himself and couldn't make any mistakes. Zach walked back to his car, twirling his keys in his hands. He got in and tears started to roll down his face. He said a little prayer to his father, thanking him. His father’s death made him a stronger person and without him, he wouldn’t have been able to done this.
Zoey was in first grade when Zach brought a new woman home, Brenda. He had met her at a friend’s party. They started going out on dates. Brenda was warned by Maggie on one of the visits.
“This man is cruel, you can’t be with him. I think your a wonderful woman and you deserve better. As much as you may love him, he’s not worth it. I was in your position years ago, now that I’m not with him I realize how unhealthy the relationship was. You don’t have to listen to me, but please consider what I’m telling you.” Maggie said.
But Brenda was blinded by love. She got engaged to Zach, not realizing what she was getting herself into. They moved in together in a small apartment. Both living a happy life they decided to move into a bigger house to have a family. Zoey loved Brenda as if she were her second mother. Zach decided he wanted to marry Brenda and proposed and she accepted. They got married a year later. A couple months after Brenda found out she was pregnant with a baby boy. She would go to her monthly visits and her baby was healthy. She was so happy to start her family.
After nine months Tyce was born but things took a turn. The abuse had started again. Zach had not changed his ways. It just took time for him to act the way he used to. It started off with verbal abuse. He would tell Brenda what to do. She couldn’t go out with her friends, she had to be in charge of Tyce, and she had to do all the house work. Unlike the other women, Brenda dealt with it because she was in love. She thought his behavior would change and that it was all going to be ok.
Brenda was slowly killing herself. She would wake up and get Tyce ready. She would bring him to daycare and go to work. After a full day of work she would pick him up and rush home. Dinner had to be ready by the time her husband got home from work or he would yell. Meanwhile she would play with Tyce and feed him too. By the time Zach got home, Brenda was exhausted. She couldn’t do it all. Brenda decided she was going to talk to Maggie.
“As much as I don’t want to believe it, I think you were right. I should’ve listened to you. I made a mistake and now I don’t know what to do.” Brenda told Maggie.
The two women discussed about how Brenda could get out of this situation. It took about three months for Brenda to leave him. Meanwhile he would hit her when she didn’t do what he wanted her to do. It got so bad that one night she had to get police involved. Zach went away for the night and came back pissed the next day, yelling at her, asking why she would ever call the police.
After the three months, Brenda was finally out. Zach was once again left alone, without Tyce or Zoey, because of his poor decisions. Both women took away custody of his children. He would never be able to see them again. He was ashamed of what he did, but there was an obvious problem. Zach was an abuser and needed help.