Zander's P.O.V.
"Zander, sweetie, are you home?" I look up from the school papers spread across my bed.
"Yeah, in here." I call out, reaching forward to clean up some of the mess that is my homework. My Mom opens the door, letting herself in then shutting it quietly behind her.
She smiles warmly, "Hi, honey. How was school?" She walks over to me and places a soft kiss on the top of my head.
I smile up at her lovingly, "It was okay, how was work?"
She sits down beside my textbooks, "It was okay as well. Have you talked to that pretty girl you were telling me of?" She smiles knowingly, a blush rising across my cheeks. I look down at my lap and fiddle with my pen, images of Sarah's adorable self flooding my brain.
"Sadly, no I didn't see her. According to Gina, she's currently involved with that other dickwad Keagen." I glare down at the pen, jealously running hot through my veins.
She lightly gasps in shock, "Oh no, has it become serious yet?"
"Not that I know of, no." I look up at her, sadness washing over me. "What if it does though, what then?"
She frowns and reaches over to gently coddle my cheek in her hand, "If it doesn't then you have your chance, but if it does then I suggest keeping your distance. Don't interfere with it, just try your best to be happy for her, honey. You'll find someone too." She smiles reassuringly, leaning forward to kiss my forehead.
I close my eyes and savor the feeling, pushing back the tears. She doesn't want you, Zander. She never will.
"Thanks, Mom." I open my eyes and smile sadly up at her. She smiles and softly pats my cheek, then leaves me to my thoughts and even seemingly disappearing into thin air.
What if she really doesn't want me? What if she really is disgusted by me?
I sigh and push the thoughts to the back of my mind, focusing on my homework instead. Two hours later, I finish all my assignments and head out into the garage with my keys in hand. A car pulls into the driveway, effectively cutting me off from starting my engine.
Dad parks and shuts off his engine, slowly staggering out of the drivers side. I roll my eyes and quickly shove my helmet on, my hand over the keys ready to start the engine.
"Zander? Is that you?" He stubbles over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder to stop me from leaving.
I grit my teeth and shrug his hand off of me, "No, it's the Easter bunny."
"Don't sass me, boy. I'm still your father!" He slurs out, gripping onto a shelf nearby to hold himself up.
"No, you haven't been that in a long time." I turn the key in the ignition, revving the engine then speed out onto the paved road. The trees and buildings pass by in a blur, the wind matching the stony cold feeling in my chest.
I pull into the familiar dirt path, parking my bike and heading into the woods. The leaves crunch beneath my feet, the tree branches dancing overhead as they always do. Calmness and peace washes over me, any worry fleeing from my mind.
I continue walking until I reach the river. The waters are slow today, the fish easily seen swimming about. I sit down on a nearby rock and watch them, listen to the birds as they chirp, the different bugs buzzing about. I close my eyes and imagine myself as one of them, as a bee buzzing to collect from a flower, as a grasshopper playing its song. They're so free.
But you'll never be free, will you?
I squeeze my eyes shut harder, willing the voice to go away, willing the pain to hide once more. I focus on the various sounds around me, the calm feeling washing over me again. Good.
I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, quickly checking for any service. A signal bar pops up, allowing me to send a text to my mom and let her know I'm alright. I shouldn't have left her at home with Him, I hope she's alright. But she's strong, she can handle him now.
I stare down at my phone, then tap on the message section to send a text. Taking a deep breath, I tap on the send icon.
Hey :) -Z
I exhale loudly, lightly laughing at my own stupidity and nerves. It's just a text, Zander. Chill out. I jump slightly when my phone vibrates in my hand almost immediately, my heart starts beating loudly inside my chest.
Hey! What's up? :D -S
I grin down at the message, quickly typing my response and sending it.
Being bored as always! What's up with you? -Z
I bite my lip and reread the message a couple times, anxiety filling me with doubt that she'll respond. Again, almost immediately she responds and the doubt goes away while my grin returns.
Don't be bored, why not come over for another movie session with Gina and I? There's plenty of popcorn for three! :) -S
Sure, on my way now! :D -Z
I quickly shove my phone back into my pocket and walk back to my bike. I hop on it and rev the engine, a sense of pure happiness flooding out any other bad emotion I previously had. I pull out onto the paved road then head towards her house, excitement bubbling inside me at the thought of the time that will be spent with them ahead.
~•~
The bottle connects with the poorly painted wall behind me and shatters, barely missing my face. I look up at him terrified, cowering against the wall while he continued shouting and throwing things. Mom moves towards me slowly, flinching in fear when it seems he was ready to strike her as well, but then continuing on.
"Zander, honey." She reaches me and quickly scoops me up in her arms, coddling me close to her and blocking me from his fit. "Just look at me, baby, it'll be alright." She pushes my tear stained face to look up at her, her eyes boring into mine and reflecting the brokenness I feel back at me.
"Mommy, I'm scared." I whisper lowly, flinching into her when another bottle is thrown our way. He screams in rage, ripping open draws and throwing them at us as well. One connects with Mom's back, causing her to fall into me slightly and cry out in pain.
She cries into my hair, "I know sweetie, I know." She repeats sweet nothings into my ear, both of us shaking in terror. I feel the blood slowly trickle down her back and onto my hands wrapped around her, the wound big enough to leave a permanent scar if not treated, I just know it.
"Where the fuck is it, Maria? Where'd you hide the damn thing?!" Another bottle crashes against a wall, a table gets flipped.
Mom quickly ushers me up the steps, shushing my cries for her to come with. She gently pushes me up the steps, tears streaming down her face contradicting the reassuring smile she sends my way before shutting my bed room door.
"Robert, please calm down! You're scaring us!" I hear her shout at him, causing his anger to flare even more. I run over and jump onto my bed, pulling the covers up over my head to try and block out the noises.
It wasn't always like this, we were happy once. We were fine. But then he came home drunk, oh so drunk, and it changed us all forever.
I sniffle, my heart breaking into two as I hear the yelling continue, Mom's loud pleading cries and Dad's angry refusals.
"You can't do this, Robert! Not to him, not to me! Our boy is only fourteen, fourteen! How could you do this to us?!" She cries loudly, more glass shattering against the walls. We have neighbors, plenty of them, but they never call the police, they never check to see if things are alright. Why would they, especially when the same thing is happening in their home as well.
"What the hell do you want me to do, Maria?! Huh?!"
The fights were always like this, ever since I was eight it was the same thing. He would come home drunk out of his mind, Mom would try to talk some sense into him, but they'd only fight until morning. Then he'd apologize, promise to get better, last for maybe two days, maybe even three, then we're right back to where we started.
"Change! Stop this nonsense! Come back to me, Robert, come back to us!"
I sob into my pillow, curling up into a ball of misery. The fighting continues until day break. I toss and turn all night, falling asleep for a short while but only to be awaken again by something else being thrown or another loud shout. She asked him to change, but
That's the thing, Mom, he never did.
~•~
Can I pass out now? It's so late here! I swear, all my writing juices flow in the middle of the night! All credits for the beautiful picture at the top goes to its original creator ❤️❤️
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~Molly