What He Wouldn't Give (Unedited Version)

Chapter One: A Year Ago...

Luke couldn't bare the news he just received and walked angrily out of the doctors office and left. Eli was left alone with the doctor and he had no clue what to say or think, this man had just told him that his mother was dead. He got up slowly and followed after this father to only find that his truck was already gone. Eli feeling numb like in Linkin Park's song; he just decided to walk home even though it will be a long walk. Around seven both of the Carter men were at the house and they were both hungry.

The Carter men headed to a restaurant to get a late night dinner. Neither spoke to each other consumed by their own thoughts on the situation. A waitress by the name of Nicole served them until they paid and left. Eli was driving because his father had a few drinks. The loud hum of the engine died when Eli pulled into the garage handing the keys to his father before walking upstairs and going to bed.

Eli pulled his covers back climbing back into bed falling asleep instantly, while his father placed the second empty beer can down in front of him on the table next the first. Luke kept mutter, "She's not dead, no she can't be," to himself as he raised the beer can up to his lip. He'd pause before taking a long slow sip, swallowing and then hitting the table; mad at himself, Eli and Stacy. Eli was asleep under his black covers, his hair fallen into his face, and his guitar in the corner untouched since the night his mother went to the hospital. Luke on the other hand was drunk out of his mind by two a.m. after downing half of the thirty pack and was trying to walk up to his room. On stairs, a disturbing thought raced through his mind; his room was the start of the problem. After slamming his fist through the wall on his way up the stairs a picture frame of the three of them fell to the floor.

The glass shattered almost as if to reflect how the Carter family shattered, broken, unfixable, and never will be the same again. Mr. Carter picked up the broken photo and screamed a drunken why at Stacy's photo then he angrily flung the photo over his shoulder and then stumbled into his room. Eli woke up when he heard glass break, he got up and peaked out of his door and watched his father. His face unfazed and in shock as his watched his father, a man who was so loving and caring, turn into someone unrecognizable to him. His father stumbled drunkenly into his room and Eli slipped out of his room and helped his father to his bed and then closed his door looking over his shoulder and shaking his head and went back to his room.

Both Carter men woke up the next morning to find each other looking at each other as they walked out of their rooms. Luke was the first to look away from his son's gaze and walked downstairs as Eli's glare never left his father. Truthfully after waking up in the middle of the night Eli wasn't able to fall asleep again which in the morning left bags under his eyes as he looked into the mirror at himself.

Luke on the other hand, had a killer headache when he woke up due to the binge drinking the night before. He walked over to the cabinet that contained all the medicine and took some painkillers out and downed them with a glass of water. "Morning," he said to Eli when his son finally came downstairs and into the kitchen. Eli just looked at his father and then left the room, he couldn't stand to be in the same room with his father after knowing what happened.

Luke just looked at his son that had walked away from him and for the first time felt so stupid for drinking more than a beer or two. His wife's death wasn't just going to take a toll on him, but his son too. Mr. Carter promised himself that he wasn't going to have a repeat of last night. He also promised himself that his son would never have to see that side of him ever again.

Eli went downstairs to go play guitar, but then he looked at his Fender Squire and could only think of his mother. His legs couldn't support his body as he fell to the floor, realization striking him like a hunter's bullet piercing it's victim's heart. The waterworks were to uncontrollable for Eli, his mother was dead, gone forever and the last thing he ever said to her was "I love you mom, but I want to stay home and play guitar more." He felt so selfish and guilty. Numbness came over his body again and the tears finally stopped, so he wiped his face and locked the basement door and cranked the volume of his headphones and sat blankly staring into air at the wall opposite of him.

Time passed on that day and Luke never checked on his son, instead he left to go back to the bar to drown his misery giving into his bad habit. Eli sat downstairs that day blaring music forgetting the world. And over the next few weeks Eli became so distant from everyone as the world of Stacy's dead spread all around town. Luke began to drink almost every night. There barely was any food in the house by the third week and that was the week of Stacy's funeral and calling hours. Luke had called the hospital about a week after and allowed them to perform an autopsy on her before the calling hours and funeral.

Eli fixed the black tie around his neck and grabbed the jacket he was supposed to wear before also grabbing his phone and running to the truck so he wouldn't be late to the funeral. Luke disappeared after the calling hours a few days ago and hasn't shown up so Eli left to go by himself.