I Promise

Chapter 1: The Poor Boy and His Angel

"Stupid boy.."

"You're nothing without me."

"It's your fucking fault!"

"Stop crying, now!"

"You're the reason your mother left!"

"This is what you deserve, brat!"

It all circled in his head as small tears rolled down his flushed and puffy cheeks. He just wanted to get along with his father, but that was proving to be a fruitless attempt and just a distant dream. Why did he hate him so much? Why did he have to hurt him like this? He ran throughout the house, but his legs were just too short to measure up to his father. He chased him through the hall and up the stairs into his own bedroom. Luckily, the little boy managed to get into his room and lock the door before he could get caught again. He still had burns on his back from last time he got caught by him in an alcohol induced rage..

The boy scurried over to his beloved teddy bear and crawled up onto his bed, covering himself under the bedsheets. His father got to the bedroom door and began to bang at it, yelling at the boy through it. This was normally what it was like when his father got drunk after work. The little boy hugged his bear close to his chest to calm his rapidly beating heart as he sobbed into the plush stuffed animal, squeezing it like his life depended on it. If only his father had put that bottle down, only then did Brendon like his father. The truth was, his father was pretty friendly and even caring and nurturing when he was sober. So much so that no one suspected him to be abusive in the slightest, but once he started drinking, it was all over.

This was the daily life of Brendon as a child growing up with his single father who loved his alcohol a bit too much; what a poor little boy he truly was...

The very next morning, the boy's father, who usually went by the name of Bernard, woke up early with a dizzy feeling and a painfully throbbing headache. "Fuck.. hungover again.. where's that kid..?" He sluggishly mumbled to himself as he stumbled out of bed to go check on his son. He leaned against the wall as he made his way to the other bedroom and saw that the door was open. Upon closer inspection, the bed was already made and his little blue and gray backpack was gone. With one sloppy step at a time, Bernard made his way down the hall and down the stairs to the kitchen through the living room. A savory aroma flowed throughout the kitchen. Eggs and bacon.. and a hint of coffee.

There stood Brendon on a chair that leaned over the stove. Even at the young age of 9, he had already taught himself how to cook breakfast. Bernard shuffled his feet across the floor to retrieve himself a cup of coffee. This, of course, got the boy's attention. He turned his head and smiled to his father with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Good morning, Daddy! Look, I made food for you this time. I'm almost done."

Brendon always had an innocence to his voice that could brighten up anyone's day. Along with his voice was his adorably curly and short dark brown hair with a pair of deep emerald green eyes that contrasted his pale skin. He was like an angel and truly was a delight to have around. He was a sweet and usually timid young boy, but he was always friendly to everyone he came across. Brendon was also a very bright boy with a knack for picking things up easily when shown how to do it, almost like a secret talent of his. This is exactly how he ended up learning how to cook properly.

Brendon turned the gas off and grabbed the pan handle, carefully moving the hot pan of food and pouring the contents out onto a plate he had beside him. Once all of the eggs and bacon were on it, he placed the pan back down onto the stove and climbed off of the chair, taking the plate. With a bright little smile swept across his features, he waddled over to his father at the table and presented him with the food. "For you, Daddy!" He cooed at him.

Bernard took a sip of his coffee before he glanced down to the boy with the plate of food. With a soft chuckle, he reached his hand over and ruffled the boy's soft curls before taking the food. "Thanks, kid. I really needed this." Brendon giggled softly before he skipped over to the living room and to his backpack that laid on the floor beside the front door. He packed his own lunch already and was ready to go to school, all he needed to do was wait for his father to finish his food.

After a few minutes of waiting and playing around with the fabric of his soft light blue sweater, Brendon was finally going to be driven to school. Bernard slipped his shoes on and a jacket before he grabbed his car keys and opened the door. "Alright kiddo, let's get you to school. Do you have everything?"

"Yep! I got ready all by myself today!"

Bernard lifted one eyebrow with a soft smirk on his lips. "Oh yeah? Jeez, you're growing too fast little man, good job." He chuckled to himself as Brendon followed close behind him. They both climbed into the small car and buckled up before pulling out of the driveway.

Once he was dropped off at school, Brendon said goodbye to his father and climbed out of the car before he ran into the school. Once he was inside, he was finally free to be himself, and even better was that he got to see him.

"Hey Brendon!!"

A boy yelled from across the hallway. Before he could react, a blonde boy ran into him and tackled him to the ground. "Brendon! I missed you so much!!" This was Aiden, a sociable, energetic, and charismatic kid and Brendon's best and closest friend since kindergarten. If Brendon was an angel to others, then Aiden was his angel. The two laughed together before they stood up and walked together to their classroom.

That was when they were just kids. As they grew up together and spent more time together into high school, they would grow closer and closer. Only inside of the classroom, from when they were little boys to when they became young men, only then would their friendship flourish and blossom to something more than just that..