The Father, The Son, and The Nightmares In Between

Chapter Two

Frank didn't wake up to his usual alarm, but rather a voice. He ignored it at first, thinking it was dreams mixing with reality. He rolled over and the voice followed him, standing on the other side of the bed. He protested when they ripped the covers off of him, and he almost screamed when he saw Father Way standing over him. He yanked the covers back and blinked away the sleep, noticing it was his mother and not some religious figure. He was still pissed off because his alarm should've woken him up. He didn't like seeing anyone for the first few hours of the day. That's why he was an early riser. He glanced over at his clock, which he couldn't read due to the sleep still clouding his head.

"Frank! You're late!" His mother yelled, yanking him out of bed, causing him to collide harshly with the wall.

"Jesus, Ma!" He mumbled, wiping his eyes.

"I'd expect you to wear more clothes to bed." She glared at him.

Frank looked down and sighed. He wasn't embarrassed of his body, but his mother always made him feel like he should be. He was quite proud of it actually. He used to struggle with weight and he made it his goal to be fit and keep it that way. He liked sleeping in just his boxers because it got hot at night. Well, that and he didn't exactly have clothes he could sleep in. He stretched and made a noise when his back cracked.

"You're late for school."

"I only have one class today."

She sighed, defeated, "I forgot about the required class program..."

"You forget every single day. I should really hang up a sign..." Frank laughed at his own joke, going over to his alarm clock and seeing it ran out of battery.

When he turned around to tell his mother that he needed new batteries, she avoided looking at him directly. She looked ashamed and almost embarrassed. Then he realized why when she said, "You're saluting me, Frank."

Frank didn't get it at first, but when it clicked, he looked down, covered himself, and ordered her out of the room, saying 'shit, fuck- oh my god...' to himself. He sat back down on his bed and cringed silently, wishing to be set on fire. He had done embarrassing things in front of his mom before, but this drew a line in their relationship. At least she pointed it out to Frank rather than leaving him to find out on his own and tear himself up over it all day. He got back up and walked over to his dresser to get his clothes before walking into his bathroom to take a shower. What he was thinking about was in no way catholic of him, but he thought 'fuck that' and masturbated when he got in the shower.

He messed around until noon rolled around and decided he should head out to the school so he could meet his friends for lunch and take his one class of the day. He threw on his uniform which consisted of a white dress shirt, tie, and black pants. He, of course, tweaked it to the point where it was still the uniform, but something he enjoyed wearing. He looped his wallet chain on his belt and shoved the wallet into his pocket. He rolled up his sleeves, doing a once over of himself in the bathroom mirror, nodding to himself when he thought he looked rather attractive. Most people Frank's age didn't have as much self esteem and self confidence as he did, and he was proud of that. He knew he was attractive and used it against people, which also wasn't very catholic of him. He got sick and tired of people saying things like 'no one likes a smug person' and 'be modest', so he did everything possible to piss them off, including painting his nails black. What? he had thought when people gave him looks, Never seen a punk before?

He walked down the street with his hands in his pockets, earbuds in his ears, blaring his favorite songs off of his extremely outdated iPod. A few people passed him, giving him side glances, but for the first time in forever, an old lady said hello and that he looked very handsome, much like her son when he was Frank's age. That had make Frank smile wide and thanked her, saying he felt very handsome today. She had laughed, crossing her legs on the park bench she was sitting on, and told him to seize the day.