Life In the Pain (Punk Luke Hemmings)

Chapter 1

Darkness. 

I am surrounded with nothing but the one thing that I am afraid of. 

"Mom?" I cry out. "Dad?"

"It's okay, Luke. You're okay now," a lady that I've never seen before says as she rubs my head.

"Where is my mom?" I ask her.

"They're not here right now, Luke."

"Where are they?" I ask again, pressing for an answer. I want out of this strange place. I want to go home. As I look around me, there are tubes coming from my arms with clear liquid flowing through them. "Where's my mom?!" I am now yelling.

"Honey-"

I begin to scream, as I know she is not going to tell me the answer.

I startle awake. My breathing is heavy and my chest hurts as my heart pounds against it. I quickly turn on the light at the side of my bed before it can remind me too much of the darkness that I am terrified of. It's not uncommon to wake up from that same dream. I have it quite often, pretty much every night to be exact. 

As I hear a slam coming from the other room, I know that Ben is home. I quickly cover my sweaty body back up and turn off my light, squeezing my eyes shut and praying that he doesn't come in here. When I hear my door slowly open, my hopes are crushed. 

"You awake?" He calls out. "You better not be," he slurs after a moment of me not saying anything. 

After another moment of silence, I hear my door slam. I know from his impaired speech that he is drunk as usual. I sigh in relief since he does not approach my bed. After the night that I've had, I don't need a beating. Usually nothing stops him from hurting me and I wonder why he refrains, but I'm not complaining. 

I don't sleep for the rest of the night. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

After a few hours, I can see the sun rising from the small crack in my curtains. I sit up and turn on my light once more, knocking the water bottle next to it off in anger. I'm going to be exhausted since I got no sleep last night, but it's nothing new. I stand up and move the clothes on my floor around with my feet, attempting to find something to wear for the day.

When I am finally finished getting ready, I hurriedly exit the house, not wanting to wake my brother. I slip inside my car and throw my favorite I See Stars album in the CD player, not blaring it until I get halfway down the street. 

Just like usual, I am wishing that I wasn't alive.