Rage and Love: The Story of My Life

Chapter 18: Breakdowns and Best Friends

It was a Thursday night, 16th of February to be exact.

And Billie Joe was bummed.

Mike was in Berkeley, visiting his Mom.

And since Mike was Billie's only friend, Billie guessed that tomorrow, which just happened to be his 17th birthday, would suck.

Is was around 10pm and his step dad was drunk, as usual. His mom was at work, as usual. His siblings were living in their own homes, as usual.

He stared blankly at the TV, not even watching it. He was too scared to turn it off, in case it woke up his step ass.

Billie hated these nights. They reminded him of just after his dad died, when Mike wasn't living with them.

He missed a few months ago, when his step dad had hardly been around. Now that he had been fired, he was here all the time.

Billie got up quietly and went upstairs, avoiding all the creaky steps with his almost-seventeen-years of experience climbing this staircase.

He went into his room and changed into pyjama pants and a shirt. A simple sniff of the shirt revealed to him that it was in fact Mike's shirt.

He sat on his bed and yawned, considering settling down. Man he was getting old.

Suddenly the door burst open and his step dad stood, with arms folded. "What the fuck makes you think you can take my beer?"

Billie frowned, the statement confusing him. He hadn't even tried beer, he didn't like the smell of it. "I-.. I never took your beer, I don't like it." Billie said quietly, trying to be as honest as possible.

"Now you think you can lie to me, you little bastard? Huh?" Billie wast yanked up by Brad then, and held by the front of his shirt. "I'll teach you not to lie to me."

Billie's stomach churned as he realised he was completely alone in the house. His Mom wouldn't be home for hours.

He was brought out of this thought by a crack to the face as Brad's fist collided with Billie's jaw.

He cried out in pain but Brad simply grabbed him and smashed his head against the wall. "Stop being so fucking whiny and just take it, you little faggot!"

Billie slid down the wall, nursing the injury to his head with his hand. Brad was relentless as he kicked Billie in the ribs, then the stomach.

He yanked Billie into a standing position and pulled him out into the hallway.

"N-no! No please!" Billie begged, his voice already hoarse. His head thudded constantly, his whole middle section burned with every movement.

"Stop your fucking pathetic whining, you queer." Brad growled, smacking Billie over the head for good measure.

Then Brad gave him a good push and Billie tumbled down the stairs, landing at the bottom with a loud thud. Billie went still, and Brad kicked him once more for good measure before walking out.

Billie lay that way until his Mom got home.

-

As Ollie pulled up in the car, something seemed off with the house. She wondered if Alan or David had came over to stay. She grabbed her handbag out of her car and unlocked the door, looking in the living room.

It wasn't even 1am yet, but it was her baby's birthday. He should be awake, he would want his present. Ollie checked the kitchen before deciding Billie could have been tired and fell asleep in his room, so she went to check.